First Evidence of Leatherback Turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) Embryos and Hatchlings Emitting Sounds

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camila R. Ferrara ◽  
Richard C. Vogt ◽  
Martha R. Harfush ◽  
Renata S. Sousa-Lima ◽  
Ernesto Albavera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dermochelys Coriacea ◽  
Leatherback Turtle

scholarly journals Gross morphology and microstructure of type locality ossicles of Psephophorus polygonus Meyer, 1847 (Testudines, Dermochelyidae)

2013 ◽  
Vol 150 (5) ◽  
pp. 767-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
MASSIMO DELFINO ◽  
TORSTEN M. SCHEYER ◽  
FRANCESCO CHESI ◽  
TAMARA FLETCHER ◽  
RICHARD GEMEL ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Ventral Surface ◽  
Dive Depth ◽  
Type Locality ◽  
Dermochelys Coriacea ◽  
Compact Layer ◽  
Leatherback Turtle ◽  
New Diagnosis ◽  
First Time ◽  
Growth Centres

AbstractPsephophorus polygonus Meyer, 1847, the first fossil leatherback turtle to be named, was described on the basis of shell ossicles from the middle Miocene (MN6–7/8?) of Slovakia. The whereabouts of this material is uncertain but a slab on display at the Naturhistorisches Museum Wien is considered the neotype. We rediscovered further type locality ossicles in four European institutions, re-evaluated their gross morphology and described for the first time their microstructure by comparing them with Dermochelys coriacea, the only living dermochelyid turtle. The gross morphology is congruent with that already described for P. polygonus, but with two significant exceptions: the ridged ossicles of P. polygonus may have a distinctly concave ventral surface as well as a tectiform shape in cross-section. They do not develop the external keel typical of many ossicles of D. coriacea. Both ridged and non-ridged ossicles of P. polygonus are characterized by compact diploe structures with an internal cortex consisting of a coarse fibrous meshwork, whereas the proportionately thinner ossicles of D. coriacea tend to lose the internal cortex, and thus their diploe, during ontogeny. The ossicles of both P. polygonus and D. coriacea differ from those of other lineages of amniotes whose carapace is composed of polygonal ossicles or platelets, in having growth centres situated at the plate centres just interior to the external bone surface and not within the cancellous core or closer to the internal compact layer. The new diagnosis of P. polygonus allows us to preliminarily re-evaluate the taxonomy of some of the Psephophorus-like species. Despite some macro- and micromorphological differences, it seems likely that Psephophorus was as cosmopolitan as extant Dermochelys and had a broadly similar ecology, with a possible difference concerning the dive depth.

Arsenic compounds in tissues of the leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea

1994 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 463-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.S. Edmonds ◽  
Y. Shibata ◽  
R.I.T. Prince ◽  
K.A. Francesconi ◽  
M. Morita
Keyword(s):  
Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Inductively Coupled Plasma ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Pectoral Muscle ◽  
Dermochelys Coriacea ◽  
Aqueous Extracts ◽  
Arsenic Compounds ◽  
Leatherback Turtle ◽  
Inductively Coupled ◽  
Plasma Mass Spectrometry

Examination of extracts of tissues of a leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea (L.) (Reptilia: Dermochelyidae) by high-performance liquid chromatography inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry has demonstrated the presence of arsenobetaine, arsenocholine and inorganic arsenate in heart muscle and liver, and arsenobetaine and inorganic arsenate in pectoral muscle. Although arsenobetaine was the major form in all tissues, inorganic arsenate and arsenocholine accounted for 50% and 15% respectively of arsenic in aqueous extracts of the liver.

On the orientation circle of the leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea

1975 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 568-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Mrosovsky ◽  
Sara J. Shettleworth
Keyword(s):  
Dermochelys Coriacea ◽  
Leatherback Turtle

Global phylogeography of the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)

1999 ◽  
Vol 248 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Dutton ◽  
Brian W. Bowen ◽  
David W. Owens ◽  
Ana Barragan ◽  
Scott K. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Dermochelys Coriacea ◽  
Leatherback Turtle

Nesting Ecology of the Leatherback Turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, at Parque Nacional Marino Las Baulas, Costa Rica: 1988–1989 to 1999–2000

Copeia ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 2002 (3) ◽  
pp. 653-664 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard D. Reina ◽  
Philippe A. Mayor ◽  
James R. Spotila ◽  
Rotney Piedra ◽  
Frank V. Paladino
Keyword(s):  
Costa Rica ◽  
Dermochelys Coriacea ◽  
Nesting Ecology ◽  
Leatherback Turtle

The fatty acid composition of the leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea and its jellyfish prey

1990 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. L. Holland ◽  
J. Davenport ◽  
J. East
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Arachidonic Acid ◽  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Neutral Lipid ◽  
Total Lipid ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Pectoral Muscle ◽  
Dermochelys Coriacea ◽  
Leatherback Turtle ◽  
Total Fatty Acids

The leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea (L.) studied was a male, weighing 916 kg, with a total dorsal length of 291 cm. It was beached on the Welsh coast, UK in September 1988 and is currently the largest leatherback ever recorded.Total lipid formed between 87.5 and 95.4% of the dry weight of representative samples of the blubber and 43.0% and 4.9% of the liver and pectoral muscle respectively. High levels of neutral lipid in the liver (79.0% of the total lipid) as well as the blubber (87.6–99.9% of the total lipid) suggest an important energy storage function for these tissues.Overall, with the notable exception of 22:lwll, fatty acids which are found in a putative jellyfish diet of Rhizostoma, Amelia, Cyanea and Chrysaora are also present in the leatherback liver and muscle, blubber and other fatty tissues. Fatty acid 22:lwll is present in the jellyfish samples, but is absent or at trace levels only in the leatherback tissues (0.1–0.3% of the total fatty acids).The polyunsaturated fatty acids of the w3 series 20:5w3, 22:5w3 and 22:6w3 are well represented in leatherback adipose tissues, muscle and liver as well as in the jellyfish examined. The leatherback and jellyfish lipids are therefore marine in character, but are also similar to terrestrial animal lipid in having a high proportion of fatty acids of the w6 series, principally arachidonic acid, 20:4w6. The significant levels of 20:4w6 in jellyfish total lipid (9.7–20.0% of the total fatty acids) and in the leatherback neutral lipid (1.0–10.9% of the total fatty acids) and phospholipid (0.6–15.5% of total fatty acids) fractions of all tissues sampled suggests that arachidonic acid assumes more importance in food chain relationships involving leatherbacks than in other marine food webs such as those involving fish.

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