[Photo: US Fish and Wildlife Service]

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
Lepidochelys kempii

Description: The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is the smallest marine turtle in the world, with adults weighing 75-100 pounds (33-45 kg) with a carapace length of 24-32 inches (60-82 cm). The carapace (top shell) is a dark, greenish gray color and the bottom shell or plastron is a creamy yellow color. Kemp's ridley turtles have a a dark green spotted head with a beak-like shape and four dark green flippers with one claw on the front flippers and one to two claws on the back flippers.

Life History: Sexual maturity for females is at 10-15 years of age. Males and females spend their lives in the open Gulf or Atlantic Ocean waters and after mating, females come to shore to lay eggs. Females return to the same beach each year to nest and may have 2-3 clutches with up to 100 eggs during nesting season (May-July). After depositing the eggs, the females return to the open water. The eggs hatch after 50-55 days and the hatchlings quickly move to the open water to avoid nearshore predation. Only 1 percent of hatchlings survive to sexual maturity. The juveniles continue to develop while floating on sargassum mats. Kemp's ridleys can live up to 30-50 years. Both male and female Kemp's ridleys are migratory, with females moving from nesting grounds, to breeding grounds to foraging grounds. They mostly feed on swimming crabs, but also consume shrimp, snails, clams, jellyfish, sea stars and fish. Humans, shore birds and sharks are their major predators.

Habitat: Kemp's ridley sea turtles prefer open waters off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic seaboard. They forage in muddy or sandy bottoms in the "neritic" zone where prey such as fish, jellyfish, and mollusks are found. Females only come ashore to lay eggs on beaches in the Gulf of Mexico, and 95 percent of Kemp's ridley sea turtle lay eggs at three beaches in Tamaulipas, Mexico. This mass gathering and nesting of female Kemp's ridley turtles is referred to as an arribada or "arrival." After juveniles have hatched, they return to the water and live on floating sargassum seaweed mats for their first two years of life.

Distribution: In the U.S. Kemp's ridleys are found throughout the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Atlantic coastal waters from Florida to New England.  The primary nesting grounds for femaleLepidochelys kempii are three beaches in the Tamaulipas area of Mexico.

Status: The Kemp's ridley sea turtle is a state and federally listed endangered species (1970). The populations of these sea turtles began a rapid decline in the 1940s due to egg collection and capture in fishing gear. According to NOAA, between 1978 and 1991, only 200 Kemp's ridleys nested annually. The populations have begun to recover and over 12,000 nests were found at various sites in 2006. The greatest threats to these species are incidental capture in fishing gear such as shrimp trawls, gill nets, longlines, traps and pots. Additionally, floating trash and more recently, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, continue to threaten this species. Egg collection has been banned and is no longer a significant threat to Kemp's ridleys.

Resources:

NOAA Fisheries Protected Resources

TX Parks and Widlife - Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle