MARINE ANIMALS THAT ARE POISONOUS TO EAT 133 



POISONOUS MARINE TURTLES 



Poisoning from marine turtles is one of the lesser known types of 

 intoxications produced by marine organisms. The cases that have 

 been reported are sufficiently severe to be impressive. As in the 

 case of fishes, most of these species are commonly eaten with im- 

 punity. For some unknown reason, certain species of marine turtles 

 in the vicinity of the Philippine Islands, Ceylon, and Indonesia, 

 under certain circumstances, may become extremely poisonous to 

 eat. 



Species of Marine Turtles Reported as Poisonous to Eat : 



Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia my das (Linnaeus) (Fig. 85, Top). 

 Inhabits all tropical and subtropical seas. 



Hawksbill Turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata (Linnaeus) (Fig. 

 85, Center). Inhabits all tropical and subtropical seas. 



Leatherback Turtle, Dermochelys coriacea (Linnaeus) (Fig. 

 85, Bottom). Largely circumtropical, but occasionally taken in 

 temperate waters. 



Medical Aspects. Symptoms generally develop within a few hours 

 to several days after ingestion of the flesh. The initial symptoms 

 are usually nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, severe upper abdominal 

 pain, dizziness, dry burning sensation of the lips, tongue, lining of 

 the mouth and throat. Swallowing becomes very difficult, and ex- 

 cessive salivation is pronounced. The disturbances of the mouth 

 may take several days to develop, but become progressively severe 

 as time goes on. The tongue develops a white coating, and the 

 breath becomes very foul. Later, the tongue may become covered 

 with multiple pinhead-sized, reddened papules, which may later 

 break down into ulcers. If the victim has been severely poisoned, 

 he tends to become very sleepy, and is difficult to keep awake. If 

 this symptom develops, it is usually a bad sign, and death soon 

 follows. Death is believed to be due to liver and kidney damage. 

 About 44 percent of the victims poisoned by marine turtles die. 



Treatment. There is no specific treatment. Some of the recom- 

 mendations presented in fish poisoning are pertinent here. 



Prevention. Marine turtles in the tropical Indo-Pacific region 

 should be eaten with caution. If in doubt, check with local native 

 groups and find out if they are safe to eat in that locality. Turtle 

 liver is especially dangerous to eat. 



Fig. 85. Top: Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus). Center: 



Hawksbill Turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata (Linnaeus). Bottom: Leatherback 



Turtle, Dermochelys coriacea (Linnaeus). 



