THE RE-ENTRANTS 



305 



Fig. 184. Green turtle (left') and hawkshill turtle (rig/it). 



warm seas. The habits of none of these are well known, and those of one, the 

 ridley, is shrouded in mystery. 



GREEN TURTLE: Chelon'm mydas 



Size: Up to 4 feet. 



Weight: Up to 500 pounds. Formerly reported to 800 pounds or more. 



Distribution: Gulf of Mexico to Caribbean and Atlantic. Straggles north to 

 Cape Cod. On West Coast north to southern California. Cosmopolitan in 

 warm seas. 



Identification: The carapace is smooth and brownish in the Atlantic, greenish 

 to olive-brown in the Pacific. The head is small and blunt and, unlike other 

 sea turtles, bears only one pair of prefrontal shields on the top of the snout be- 

 tween the eyes and nostrils (other sea turtles have two pairs). 



Habits: The habitat of this turtle is restricted to shallow shoal waters (2 to 4 

 fathoms) where there is a good growth of eelgrass, Zostera, or other marine 

 vegetation, which it eats almost exclusively, although it will eat some inverte- 

 brates. Near these vegetable gardens, the green turtle requires rocks or reefs, 

 in the protection of which it sleeps. During sleep, the metabolism is low so 

 that little oxygen is required. It is occasionally seen out at sea. It has a mild 

 temperament. 



Formerly, the green turtle bred over a wide area, but its numbers have been 

 greatly depleted, and the Atlantic form is now found chiefly in Central America 

 and off Ascension Island. It was exterminated from Florida shortly after the 

 turn of the century. This is the most valuable of all reptiles and could be, if 

 properly restored, a major food source. Its flesh is exquisite and the eggs are 

 a delicacy. This animal is not now on the verge of extinction but it could shortly 

 be brought to such a state with an increase in fishing pressures. 



HAWKSBiLL TURTLE: Eretniochelys imbricata 



Weight: Common at 40 to 50 pounds. Large at 100 pounds. Up to 280 pounds. 

 Distribution: Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Tropical Indo-Pacific north to 

 Baja California. 



