HAWKSBILL TURTLE 



Eretmochelys imbricata Linnaeus 



KINGDOM Animalia 



CLASS Reptilia 



ORDER Testudinata 



FAMILY Cheloniidae 



OTHER COMMON NAMES carey 



DATES 



Entered into system To be determined 



Updates. . 22 September 1976; 14 February 1977 



22 May 1979 



LEGAL STATUS 



Federal: Endangered (35 FR 8491 ;2 June 1970). 



States: Endangered: Florida, Georgia, Mary- 



land, Mississippi, New York, Texas. 

 Protected: Alabama, North Carolina 



REASONS FOR CURRENT STATUS 



The hawksbill turtle is clearly being extir- 



pated from Atlantic and Carribean waters (Carr 

 and Stancyk 1975). The major cause is exploita- 

 tion for the shell, but meat and skin are also used. 

 Eggs are harvested by man and other predators. 



Relatively undisturbed beaches are required 

 for nesting. Increasing development and modifi- 

 cation of beaches are incompatible with sea turtle 

 reproduction. For example, illumination of 

 beaches at night can result in distraction of hatch- 

 lings away from the sea (McFarlane 1963). 



Other causes contribute to low total numbers. 

 These include increased numbers of snorkelers 

 and scuba divers who spear turtles for sport and 

 prize (Carr and Stancyk 1975). Littering of seas, 

 according to Rebel (1974), may cause fatalities 

 (e.g. if a plastic bag is mistaken for a jellyfish and 

 consumed). Also, tremendous predation of hatch- 

 lings and eggs by camiverous ants, crabs, fishes, 

 reptiles, birds, and mammals limits recruitment 

 (Rebel 1974). 



PRIORITY INDEX 



Not assigned 



