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Click here for a Taxonomic Key to Caribbean Sea Turtle Hatchlings
1 . Leathery, scuteless black or spotted carapace, posteriorly pointed and with prominent longitudinal ridges; carapace length to about 180 cm; all oceans, temperate tropical — Dermochelys coriacea
1’. Carapace hard with large scutes, rounded or elongate but not posteriorly pointed; carapace length less than 120 cm — see 2
2 . Carapace wide and almost circular; head width to about 15 cm; dorsal coloration gray to olive-green, unmarked; maximum carapace length to about 70 cm — see 3
2’. Carapace no so wide as to be almost circular; head width to about 15 cm; coloration variable; maximum carapace length to 120 cm — see 4
3 . Carapace very flat and wide, coloration relatively light, juveniles gray, circular in outline; maximum carapace length 72 cm; Gulf of Mexico, eastern USA, vagrant of western Europe — Lepidochelys kempii
3’. Carapace relatively steep-sided, especially in eastern Pacific; typically dark olive; juveniles gray, circular in outline (similar to L. kempii); maximum carapace length 72 cm; Pacific, Indian and South Atlantic Oceans (Trinidad to Brazil; West Africa) — Lepidochelys olivacea
4 . Head very large (width up to 28 cm in adults); carapace broadest anteriorly, elongate, and posteriorly narrowed, with a “hump” at the fifth vertebral scute; color uniform reddish-brown; maximum carapace length 105 cm; usually temperate waters of all oceans, including Mediterranean and US Atlantic, occasionally in tropics — Caretta caretta
4’. Head not very large (width to 12 – 15 cm in adults); carapace not broadest anteriorly, lacking “hump” at fifth vertebral scute; color variable, carapace often boldly marked, typically with dark brown or black streaks, or plain olive; tropical seas — see 5
5 . Head small, anteriorly rounded; carapace heart-shaped — see 6
5’. Head wither very narrow and anteriorly pointed or medium and broadly triangular; carapace either relatively narrow or broadly oval — see 7
6 . Carapace smooth and wide (modest incurving above hind limbs), coloration variable but usually with radiating streaks, or spots in some large adults; maximum carapace length 120 cm; tropics and subtropics, all oceans — Chelonia mydas
6’. Carapace typically narrowed by strong incurving above hind limbs, color almost black, plain or spotted; carapace length to 90 cm, usually less, eastern Pacific, with rare vagrants further west- Chelonia sp. (Black Turtle)
7 . Head narrow, with pointed bird-like beak (head width to 12 cm); carapace relatively narrow and lacking upturned sides, often well-marked, scute borders obvious and overlapping, posterior margin of carapace usually strongly serrated; carapace length to about 90 cm; tropical waters, all oceans — Eretmochelys imbricata
7’. Head broadly triangular and relatively flattened (width to 15 cm); carapace broadly oval, very flat with upturned sides, without markings, scute borders often indistinct, and edges of shell smooth; carapace length to about 100 cm; confined to tropical Australia — Natator depressus.
Source: Pritchard and Mortimer (1999), used with permission