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Marine Turtle Newsletter 68:2, © 1995
Don Moll1, Blayk Michaels2, Mitchel W. Henson, Jr.2 and Andrew D. Roberts2
1Biology Department, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri 65804 USA;
2Bass Pro Shops, Inc., 1935 S. Campbell Ave., Springfield, Missouri 65898 USA
Cleaning symbioses have been previously observed involving green turtles, Chelonia mydas with damselfish, Abudefduf sexfasciatus, and the wrasses, Thalassoma lunare and T. duperry (e.g., Booth and Peters 1972; Losey et al. 1994) and hawksbills, Eretmochelys imbricata with French angelfish, Pomacentrus paru (Smith 1988). We report the observation of similar behavior by Kemp's ridley, Lepidochelys kempii with porkfish, Anisotremus virginicus.
An adult female Kemp's ridley maintained for display purposes at Bass Pro Shops, Inc. in Springfield, Missouri has repeatedly been observed to assume the characteristic solicitation posture displayed by other sea turtles involved in symbiotic associations with cleaner fishes (see Figure 4 in Booth and Peters 1972) when porkfish are present in her tank (i.e., body held immobile at an approximately 45° angle from the substrate with limbs and head and neck extended). The fishes respond by approaching the turtle and nibbling upon her carapace and exposed soft body parts.
The objective of the fishes is not known but may entail the acquisition of bits of loose tissue or algae which are found in patches on the turtle's limbs, neck and carapace. Although seven other Kemp's ridleys have periodically been maintained by Bass Pro Shops since 1985, no other individuals have been observed behaving similarly. The symbionts' specific responses to one another, and the species' overlap in some parts of their geographic ranges (i.e., Gulf of Mexico, western Caribbean, and western Atlantic to Bermuda) suggest the possibility that the captives' behavior could reflect a natural phenomenon.
Booth, J. and Peters, J. A. 1972. Behavioural studies of the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) in the sea. Animal Behav. 20:808-812.
Losey, G. S., G. H. Balazs and L. A. Privitera. 1994. Cleaning symbiosis between the wrasse, Thalassoma duperry, and the green turtle, Chelonia mydas. Copeia 1994:684-690.
Smith, S. H. 1988. Cleaning of the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) by adult French angelfish. Herp. Rev. 19:55.