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The Kemp's ridley is the one of the smallest sea turtles weighing between 75 to 100 pounds. Their shells are heart-shaped, oval or round. Their shells range in color from gray (in young turtles) to shades of olive green in adults. Kemp's ridleys are the most critically endangered species of all sea turtles.

Diet: The Kemp's ridleys are shallow water, benthic (ocean floor) feeders. They eat mostly invertebrates (animals with no backbone). Various types of crab seem to be their favorite food, but they also eat shrimp, mollusks, fish, and sea stars (starfish). They use their slightly hooked, strong beaks to crush their food. Like many other sea turtles, they migrate hundreds of miles from their coastal feeding grounds to their nesting beaches.

Reproduction: In 1947, over 40,000 female Kemp's ridleys nested on just one beach! This remarkable, simultaneous nesting is called arribada or arribazones. The phenomenon is unique to Kemp's and olive ridley sea turtles. At around 7 to 15 years of age, the Kemp's ridley has reached sexual maturity (the age when females begin to lay eggs). From April to June, adults mate off the coasts of Tamaulipas and Veracruz, Mexico. Females lay approximately 100 eggs in each clutch every 10 to 28 days each year.

Unfortunately, the world may never see large arribadas of Kemp's ridley again. By the mid 1990's, the number of nesting females had declined from more than 40,000 to only several hundred. One basic problem is that they have only a single primary breeding area. At Padre Island, Texas scientists established a second, experimental site but it has produced limited success. Historically, hunting and overharvesting of eggs have been the major threats to Kemp's ridley populations. Currently, human activities, including population growth and the resulting pressures on coastal habitats, ocean pollution, offshore oil spills, and floating debris pose serious threats to their survival. The Mexican government protects only a portion of the nesting beach. The rest is open to construction and other disturbances. The coastal areas of Rancho Nuevo do not allow fishing during nesting season but enforcement is inadequate. Kemp's ridley are also killed as bycatch (incidental catch) in shrimp trawlers, gill nets, hook and line, and crab traps.

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13y ago
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12y ago

The Kemp's Ridley is the smallest sea turtle , only weighing 75 - 100lbs.

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13y ago

The smallest Chelonian in the world is the Speckled Cape Tortoise found in Western South Africa; it grows between 6 and 8 centimeters and the males are smaller than the female.

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12y ago

about 2 inches

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Q: What is the smallest soft shell turtle?
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