GULF OF MEXICO 



515 



3. Inframarginals three, without pores, two-clawed, brownish. 

 Inframarginals four, with pores, three-clawed, olive green. 



4. Shields do not overlap. Usually only one claw on front flipper. Jaw not beak-like. 

 Shields do overlap. Two claws on front flippers. Upper jaw forms overhanging beak. 



Atlantic Loggerhead Turtlk 



Carella caretta 



Kemp's Loggerhead Turtle 



Lepidochelys kempii 



Green Turtle 



Chelonia mydas 



Hawksbill Turtle 



Eretmochelys imbricata 



DISTRIBUTION IN THE GULF OF MEXICO 



The building of harbor works, the increasing 

 human populations in the immediate proximity 

 of the sandy beaches used for turtle nesting, and 

 heavy fishing in the past have all contributed to 

 the decline in numbers of all species of marine 

 turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. The populations 

 have now been reduced to the point where the 

 commercial utilization of the more common green 

 turtle is piu'ely local in extent and limited prin- 

 cipally to the Florida Keys. Most of the turtles 

 landed in Florida today are shipped from Nica- 

 ragua or from the Cayman Islands. 



The green turtle is still seen frequently in the 

 Florida Keys, but is no longer common in the 

 western or northern part of the Gulf of Mexico 

 although seen occasionally. This marks a defi- 

 nite decline in numbers, since 3,500 pounds of 

 green turtle were landed in Louisiana in 1936. 

 Since then the catch has declined and is no longer 

 reported. In Texas the most recently reported 

 catch is for 1925 when 2,550 pounds were landed. 

 This may be contrasted with landings of 90,793 

 pounds in Louisiana and 83,000 pounds in Texas 

 during 1890. In the same year 468,256 pounds 

 were landed in Florida. This is now reduced to 

 less than 50,000 pounds, a large proportion of 

 which is imported. 



The hawksbill turtle has similarly declined. 

 These are present throughout the Caribbean and 

 are still to be seen frequently in the Florida Keys. 

 They are not common anywhere else in the Gulf 

 of Mexico. 



The Atlantic loggerhead turtle is most often 

 found, although not abundantly, in the Gulf of 

 Mexico, more so off the eastern shores and the 

 Florida Keys. Kemp's loggerhead is rarely re- 

 corded, possibly because it may be confused with 

 the Atlantic loggerhead. It is found occasionally 

 on most parts of the Gulf coast and rarely on the 

 Atlantic coast. 



The leatherback turtle is widely distributed 

 throughout the tropical and subtropical seas. It 

 is nowhere common, however, and is rarely seen 

 today in the Gulf of Mexico. Since it prefers 

 deep water to the shallow bays and lagoons, there 

 is less opportunity for observing it, and this may 

 partially account for its apparent rarity. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 



Deraniyagala, p. E. P. 



1943. Subspecies formation in loggerhead turtles (Ca- 

 rettidae). Spolia Zeylanica 23(2) : 79-92. 



1945. Some subspecific characters of the loggerhead 

 Caretta caretta. Spolia Zeylanica 24(2): 95-98. 



Garman, Samuel. 



1884. Contributions to the natural history of the Ber- 

 mudas. VI. The reptiles of Bermuda. Bull. U. S. 

 Nat. Mus. 25: 285-303. 

 Ingle, Robert M., and F. G. Walton Smith. 



1949. Sea turtles and the turtle industry of the West 

 Indies, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, with anno- 

 tated bibliography. Univ. of Miami Press. 

 Pope, Clifford H. 



1946. Turtles of the United States. Alfred A. Knopf, 

 New York. 



Stejneger, Leonard, and Thomas Barbour. 



1943-44. A check list of North American amphibians 

 and reptiles. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 93: 209-212. 



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