Menzies, R.A. 



Sea Turtle Nesting on Testiqo Grande Island. Venezuela. 



St. George's University 

 ■^ Grenada, West Indies 



Testigo Grande Island is located at latitude 11°24'N and 

 longitude 62°10'W or about 50 nautical miles North of Carupano 

 and 50 nautical miles N.E. of Pampatar, Margarita, Venezuela and 

 84 nautical miles S.W. of Grenada (see Figure 1) . 



On 22 July 1987 a recent hatch of sea turtles was discovered 

 on the northeast shore of the island. About 45 egg shells were 

 observed, although some might have blown away. Most were still 

 pliable, indicating that the hatch was recent. Considering the 

 ambient temperature and continual breeze which would have 

 promoted drying, the hatch most likely occurred within a day or 

 two. No unsuccessful hatchlings were found. Because of the size 

 of the egg shells, the species was believed to be Dermochelys 

 coriacea . the leatherback turtle. Portions of egg shells were 

 collected for later identification, possibly by chemical methods. 



The nest was above the high water mark and back about 10 

 meters and on the first dune rise which had about 3-4 meters of 

 elevation. The rise was abrupt, the grade being about 25-3 5. 

 The sand here was white, soft and powdery and alternated from 

 rock rubble or pebble to sand. The intertidal zones appeared to 

 reflect this pattern. The beach immediately in front of the 

 hatch was mostly sand as was the intertidal zone. 



Sea turtle nesting in the Testigos is not surprising when 

 the many sandy beaches are seen. The fact that this location was 

 not recorded in the Venezuela report to WATS I (Bacon et al. 

 1984) is probably due to its remoteness. 



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