| Species fact sheet | by Global Register of Migratory Species - www.groms.de |
| Use the GROMS database for dynamic search for migratory species, new links and references. |
| Lepidochelys kempii | (Garman, 1880) |
| Synonym: | Lepidochelys kempi |
| Family: | Cheloniidae |
| Order: | Testudines |
| English: | Kemp's Ridley turtle |
| French: | Tortue de Ridley |
| Spanish: | Tortuga lora |
| German: | Atlantische Bastarschildkröte (There's a German version of this page!) |
| Norwegian: | Kemps Ridley skilpadde [?], Bastardhavskildpadde [?] (dansk) (There's a Norwegian version of this page!) |
| Migration: | intraoceanic |
| Regions: | [...] |
| CMS: | App I & II |
| CITES: | I |
| RL1996: | CR |
| RL2000: | CR |
“Kemp's Ridley turtle is closely related to L. olivacea, from which it can be differentiated by its grey carapace. Kemp's Ridley is restricted to the warm temperate zone of the North Atlantic. Fretey (1999) reviewed current bibliographic data as to the exact dividing line between their areas of occurence. L. kempii definitely has a more northern distribution and is mainly found in the Gulf of Mexico, but sometimes appears up to northern latitudes of 47 degrees. Occasionally, it goes south towards the Greater Antilles and the North of South America, while L. olivacea goes up to the West Indian Arc and the French West Indies, and regularly nests in Brazil and the Guyanas. These differences clearly emerge from the museum data shown on the map (Iverson 1992).
Hildebrand (1979, in Bjorndal 1995) sketches a conclusive scenario of Kemp's Ridley migration: from its nesting grounds in Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas (Mexico), subadults and adults move to the highly productive shrimp crab beds of Louisiana (March Island to Mississippi Delta, USA) and the Tabasco-Campeche area of Mexico. These data are based on tag returns and incidental capture by shrimp fishermen, and show that the species primarily migrates along shore rather than in the open Gulf. Efficient protection of a nesting population at South Padre Island, Texas, was achieved by implementing shrimping closures and Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) around the Florida Keys region (McDaniel et al. 2000). Due to these protective measures, the species recovered, but continues to be the most endangered turtle, classified as "Critically Endangered" (CR) by the recent international Red List (Hilton-Taylor 2000).”
Riede, K. (2001): Global Register of Migratory Species. Weltregister wandernder Tierarten. Münster (Landwirtschaftsverlag), p. 267
Further detailed information from the GROMS-database
| Recommended link(s): | (on the german or norwegian equivalent page regarding Lepidochelys kempii there may be further links!) |
| marinebio.org | Lepidochelys kempii Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle: Description & Behavior, World Range & Habitat, Feeding Behavior (Ecology), Life History, Comments, Further Research, References, Citation |
| www.fws.gov | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Species Profile: Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) |
| Texas Parks and Wildlife Departement | Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii |
| Animal Diversity Web | University of Michigan - Museum of Zoology |
| www.nmfs.noaa.gov | NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (federal agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce) |
| OBIS-SEAMAP | Ocean Biogeographic Information System - Spatial Ecological Analysis of Megavertebrate Populations taxonomy, discription, distribution (map), ecology & behaviour, feeding & prey, threats & status of Lepidochelys kempii (Kemp's Ridley) |
| seaturtle.org |
Marine Turtle Newsletter 79:16-18: Caillouet, C. W., 1998: "Testing Hypotheses Of The Kemp's Ridley Head-Start Experiment";... Marine Turtle Newsletter 87 (© 2000): Letter to the Editors: "Which Kemp’s Ridley Nest Numbers are Correct?";... Marine Turtle Newsletter 82:1-5: Shaver, D. J., C. W. Caillouet, Jr., 1998: "More Kemp's ridley turtles return to south Texas to nest";... Links : Species : Living : Lepidochelys kempii |
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Feedback: mail to: Klaus Riede
by Ansgar Tappenhölter