AUSTRALIAN BIODIVERSITY RECORD - Calodema

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Australian Biodiversity Record, 2007 (7): 1-901835 Chelonia marmorata Duméril & Bibron, Erpétol. gén., Hist. natur. Rept., 2: 546; plate 23:figs 1, 1a. – Type Locality: Ascension Island.1835 Chelonia (Chelonia) cepedeana Fitzinger (ex errore), Ann. Wien. Mus. Naturgesch., 1:128.1838 Mydas mydas – Cocteau, In : de la Sagra, Hist. phys. pol. natur. Île Cuba, 4 (Rept.): 22.1843 Mydasea mydas – Gervais, Dict. Hist. natur., 3: 457.1846 EuChelonia mydas – Tschudi, Fauna peruana: 22.1848 Megemys mydas – Gistel, Naturgesch. Thiere: 8.1858 Chelonia formosa Girard, U.S. Explor. Exped., Herpetol. 1838–1842, 20 (Herpetol.):456; plate 31: figs 1-4. – Type Locality: Fiji Islands.1858 Chelonia tenuis Girard, Girard, U.S. Explor. Exped., Herpetol. 1838–1842, 20(Herpetol.): 459; plate 31: fig. 8. – Type Locality: Honden Island, Tahiti, Eimeo and RosaIsland.1858 Euchelys macropus – Girard, U.S. Explor. Exped., Herpetol. 1838–1842, 20 (Herpetol.):447.1862 Chelone macropus – Strauch, Mém. Acad. impér. Sci. St. Pétersbourg, Sér. 7, 5 (7): 61.1862 Chelone maculosa – Strauch, Mém. Acad. impér. Sci. St. Pétersbourg, Sér. 7, 5 (7):186.1862 Chelone marmorata – Strauch, Mém. Acad. impér. Sci. St. Pétersbourg, Sér. 7, 5 (7):187.1862 Chelone virgata – Strauch, Mém. Acad. impér. Sci. St. Pétersbourg, Sér. 7, 5 (7): 183.1862 Chelone viridis – Strauch, Mém. Acad. impér. Sci. St. Pétersbourg, Sér. 7, 5 (7): 185.1864 Chelonia albiventer Nardo, Atti R. Ist. Ven. Sci. Lett. Arti, Ser. 3, 9: 1420; plate 35. –Type Locality: harbour of Malamocco, Adriatic Sea.1865 Thalassiochelys albiventer – Günther, Zool. Rec., Rept.: 148.1868 Chelonia agassizii Bocourt, Ann. Sci. natur., (5) 10: 122. – Type Locality: mouth of RioNagualate, Pacific coast of Guatemala.1870 Mydas viridis – Gray, Suppl. Cat. Shield Rept. Coll. Brit. Mus., 1 (Testud.): 119.1871 Chelone midas – Cope, Proc. Acad. Natur. Sci. Philadelphia, 1871: 214.1887 Chelonia lata Philippi, Zool. Garten, 28: 84. – Type Locality: Valparaiso.1889 Chelone mydas – Boulenger, Cat. Chelon. Rhynchoceph. Crocod. Brit. Mus. (Natur.Hist.): 180.1928 Chelonia mydas mydas – Mertens & Müller, Abh. Senckenb. naturforsch. Ges., 41: 23.1952 Chelonia mydas agassizii – Carr, Handbook of Turtles: 357.1962 Chelonia mydas carrinegra Caldwell, Los Angeles Co. Mus. Publ. Sci., 61: 4; figs 1-5. –Type Locality: Bahia de Los Angeles, Baja California Norte, Mexico.1967 Chelonia mydas agassizi Pritchard (ex errore), Living Turtles of the World: 201.1979 Chelonia mydus Nutaphand (ex errore), Turtles of Thailand: 70.1979 Chelonia mydas carinegra Nutaphand (ex errore), Turtles of Thailand: 200.Most workers treat this as a single variable species, although it is often divided into twoseparate subspecies - Chelonia mydas mydas (Linnaeus, 1758), from the Atlantic Ocean andEuropean waters such as the Mediterranean Sea, and Chelonia mydas agassizii (Bocourt,1868) for the Pacific and Indian Oceans ‘population’; The earlier name of Chelonia mydasjaponica (Thunberg, 1787) is sometimes applied to this latter region’s Green Turtles also.Description: The common name of Green Turtle actually refers to the colour of the fat of theslaughtered turtle - not the the colour of its carapace. However, the principle colour of thisspecies’ carapace is any shade of olive-green, prominently marked with reddish-brownstreaks and variegations. The enlarged scalation of the head and flippers is usually edgedwith cream providing a reticulated appearance on a darker brown background colour. Theplastron is whitish-cream. The colouration of hatchlings is bright bluish-black on the carapaceand white on the plastron. A number of features also allow this species to be easilydistinguished from other turtles. The head has a single pair of prefrontal shields and issmoothly rounded in profile (I.e. not beak-like). The body of the Green Turtle is deep, with thecarapace being somewhat heart-shaped, and the edges straight rather than upturned. Theforelimbs are covered in enlarged plates, and there is a lack of smaller scales between thephalanges. There are 4 pairs of costal shields on the carapace (and these do not overlap),The maximum length attained is usually around 1 metre, but larger specimens have beenfound.6
Australian Biodiversity Record, 2007 (7): 1-90Distribution: Known throughout most tropical and subtropical seas and oceans of the world,with vagrants occasionally entering more temperate waters. In Australian waters, it occursfrom about Sydney, New South Wales (a non-resident population) northwards through theGreat Barrier Reef in Queensland, across the top of Australia, from Torres Strait and intoNorthern Territory waters, and across to Western Australia extending southwards to aboutShark Bay. They generally only occur as rare vagrants in the waters of southern New SouthWales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia.Habitat: This species is particularly common in the shallower tropical continental waters from3-10 metres in depth such as is found along the Great Barrier Reef. They also occur intemperate waters, and juveniles and immatures up to around 300 mm length are pelagic,drifting with currents thousands of kilometres - and are usually associated with Sargassumdrift-lines. Sub-adults inhabit shallow benthic foraging habitat containing seagrass and/oralgae, including coral and rocky reefs, and inshore seagrass beds. Underwater overhangs,ledges and shallow caves are also utilised as resting sites. Green Turtles also migrate acrossopen seas for thousands of kilometres, and it is not unusual for feeding areas to be severalhundreds of kilometres from breeding sites.Biology/Ecology: Green Turtles undertake extensive reproductive migrations from feedinggrounds to nesting beaches. They breed in four major regions of tropical Australia, withQueensland having the most significant nesting activity. Major rookeries are located on theGreat Barrier Reef. In the Southern section (population about 8000), the main nesting areasare in the Capricorn-Bunker Island Group, and also at Coral Sea Island. In the Northernsection large scale breeding occurs (Population around 30,000) on Raine I., Moulter Cay,Bramble Cay, Number 7 Sandbank and Number 8 Sandbank. Another significant rookery isfound in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria (population about 5,000), where major nestingoccurs on Wellesley Island and Sir Edward Pellew Island. Anorther significant nesting area isfound in the western Gulf of Carpentaria and around the coast of Arnhem Land, with layingsites at Groote Island, Blue Mud Bay, and on the Cobourg Peninsula. To the west, severalrookeries are known in Western Australia’s North-West Shelf (population about 20,000),principal among them being at North West Cape, the islands of the Dampier Archipelago, alsonesting occurs on Browse Island, Lacepede Island, Monte Bellow Island, and Barrow Island.The Australian territory of Ashmore Reef and Cartier Island in the Indian Ocean also havesmall nesting sites as well. The timing of reproduction varies geographically, but it mainlyoccurs in the Summer months in Western Australia, as well as in the southern parts of theGreat Barrier Reef (October to January, with some as late as March). The northern GreatBarrier Reef breeding extend through Spring, Summer and Autumn. Breeding tends to beoccur throughout the year however in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria population (WellesleyIsland) peaking in the middle of the Dry Season (June-July). Females come ashore onbeaches at night to lay around 100 (but sometimes up to 200) white spherical parchmentshelled eggs in burrows in the sand above the high tide mark. Eggs are about 45 mm indiameter and weigh around 50 grams each. A female will lay several times each season(about 5 is average) with each clutch being produced every couple of weeks, and each egglayingevent takes 3-4 hours for the female to complete. The female usually remains withinabout 10 kms of the nesting beach until all clutches are laid, then returns to her feedinggrounds. The eggs hatch after incubating in the sand for about 50 to 70 days (average 64days), and the sex-ratio of the hatchlings being temperature dependant - all males areproduced at 26 C and all females at 29 C. Each hatchling is around 50mm in carapace lengthand around 25 grams in weight at hatching. Following hatching the juveniles head out to seaand spend the early years of their life drifting in the open ocean. When they reach around 300to 400 mm in carapace length they move to shallower benthic habitats where they remain fordecades. Hatchlings eventually travel vast distances beyond their nesting areas, with thosefrom the southern Great Barrier Reef nesting areas on average travelling some 400 km andup to 2600 km. Most appear to travel north to the northern Great Barrier Reef, Torres Strait,and Papua New Guinea, but some have been recovered around New Caledonia in the SouthPacific. Hatchlings from the northern Great Barrier Reef rookeries have found their way toPapua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Gulf of Carpentaria, and westwards toIndonesia. Turtles tagged in Western Australia (Lacepede Island) have been recoveredmainly in the Kimberley region of WA, Arnhem Land and the Gulf of Carpentaria, and on arare occasion Indonesia, It is known that some females nest every 2 or 3 years, but7
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