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An Unusual Stranding of a Leatherback Turtle in Turkey
Ertan Taskavak1, Ralf H. Boulon Jr.2 & Mehmet K. Atatur3
1Ege University, Faculty of Fisheries, Department of
Fisheries, 35100-Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
2Division of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Planning
and Natural Resources, 6291 Estate Nazareth 101, St.
Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands 00802-1104 (E-mail:ab309@virgin.usvi.net)
3Ege University, Faculty of Science, Department of Hydrobiology,
35100-Bornova, Izmir, Turkey
On the 5th of October 1997, a leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) was found entangled in gill nets set in 10-13 m of water in Edremit Bay, Balikesir, Turkey (39o30'12"N, 26o54'36"E). The turtle was dead upon discovery and carried no external tags (equipment was not available to check for the presence of PIT tags). The turtle was weighed by the fisherman, using an uncalibrated market scale, as approximately 200 kg.
The carapace was measured from notch to tip at 136 cm (curved) and 129 cm (straight) length. Carapace width at the widest point was 100 cm (curved) and 77 cm (straight). Plastron length and width were 103.5 cm and 74 cm, respectively. Head width and length were 20 cm and 24 cm, respectively. Tail length was measured at 12 cm from apex to cloaca.
The turtle was identified as a male after examination of the urogenital opening revealed the presence of a penis. The turtle was examined for ectobiota of which none were found. The animal was not subject to necropsy as the community where it was found wished to maintain it as a tourist attraction.
From the carapace length and weight, this turtle was most likely to have been a large subadult since the male secondary sexual characteristic of increased tail length had not yet developed. Data regarding the sizes of male leatherback turtles are scant, however minimum nesting size for females is given as 130 cm (Zug & Parham 1996) and the smallest of nesting females weighed at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, St. Croix (U. S. Virgin Islands) (n=134) was 259 kg (Boulon et al. 1996).
A cursory review of the literature revealed no previous reports of leatherback turtles for the Aegean coast of Turkey, either nesting or observed in coastal waters. Geldiay et al. (1981) reported the presence of a small number of leatherback turtles in Turkey, but only from the Mediterranean (south) and not the Aegean (west) coast. Similarly, only green and loggerhead turtles nest in Turkey, mainly along the Mediterranean shores (see Baran & Kasparek 1989 for overview).
Groombridge (1990) suggests that turtles may enter the Mediterranean regularly and possibly in substantial numbers. He states that leatherback turtles have been widely and not infrequently recorded in the central and western Mediterranean. However, this appears to be the first report of a leatherback turtle from the coastal waters of the Aegean coast of Turkey in recent times.
BARAN, I. & M. KASPAREK. 1989. Marine turtles-Turkey status survey 1988 and recommendations for conservation and management. WWF publication, 123pp.
BOULON, R. H., P.H. DUTTON & D.L. MCDONALD. 1996. Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands: Fifteen years of Conservation. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 2(2): 141-147.
GELDIAY, R., T. KORAY & S. BALIK. 1982. Status of sea turtle populations (Caretta caretta and Chelonia mydas) in the northern Mediterranean Sea, Turkey, p.425-434. In: K. A. Bjorndal (Ed.), Biology and Conservation of Sea Turtles. Smithsonian Institute Press, Washington, D.C.
GROOMBRIDGE, B. 1990. Marine turtles in the Mediterranean: distribution, population status, conservation. A report to the Council of Europe, Environment Conservation and Management Division, 99pp.
ZUG, G. R. & J. F. PARHAM. 1996. Age and growth in leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea: A skeletochronological analysis. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 2(2): 244-249.