Chinese name: Green turtle Dao Chinese alias: green turtles, turtle, turtle Latin names: pantholops hodgsoni (linnaeus, 1758) English name: green sea turtle Category: Animal world: animalia Door: Animal phylum chordata Class: Reptilia reptilia Head: Chelonia testudines Section: Turtles Division cheloniidae Genus: Turtles are chelonia latreille, 1802 Species: Green turtle 衟 c mydas. Aka Green Turtle Green Turtle Dao is the ocean reptiles. Most of the time in life to live in the sea, but the evolution is still retained some ancestral way of life, it must return the land to lay eggs, offspring, forming a more independent sudden habits.
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Shape characteristics
Green Dao largest turtle carapace length up to 153 cm, is also the largest size hard shell turtles. Its carapace shield plate on both sides with a dark brown, slightly mottled pattern 4, brownish black, slightly mottled pattern, only one pair of prefrontal scales, the legs with a pair of claws. Up to 153 cm in carapace, because of its green body fat, so called green Dao turtles. Minister scaly head when chickened get stuck and can not be fully retracted head shell. Its belly is yellow, turtles take 10 to 20 years to reach maturity, a turtle body length of about 120 to 150 cm, weighing about 120 kg.
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Habits
Green turtle 衟 large migratory turtles will foraging in a fixed area and lay eggs in another. Seaweed-eating, and occasionally eat mollusks, arthropods or fish. Often covered with algae in shallow waters feeding, turtles partial carnivorous, grow up into omnivores, eating more is the only sea turtle species of seaweed, is the only kind of sun will come ashore. Females lay eggs every 2 to 3 years, and can be produced for each reproductive season 3-7 nest eggs, litter from 100 to 150 eggs. Each female turtle takes 15 to 50 years have the ability to lay eggs, and must be able to lay their eggs on the beach temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius.
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Distribution
The main spawning in the equatorial and subtropical mainland coast, islands and other coastal beach where temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius. Is currently the largest number of the world, is also near the sea turtle species common in Taiwan, Taiwan's Penghu Wangan Island, has been planning the establishment of the Green 衟 Turtle Sanctuary. Green 衟 turtles are widely distributed in tropical and subtropical waters, or about the waters north and south latitudes between 20 ℃ isotherm, and lay eggs in water temperature over 25 degrees Celsius on the beach. Because of its lungs to breathe, diving depth limit in the sea about one or two hundred meters. Green Dao staple food for the sea turtle seagrass and macroalgae, so body fat has accumulated many green pigment, showing pale green, and hence the name; carapace color from brown there is a big fan of black spotted close to dark green and other colors range.
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Population status
Green turtles are endangered Dao, the world's only remaining approximately 200,000 female turtles lay their eggs.
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Growth and reproduction
(A) a turtle Generally wild green turtles need Dao long 20 to 50 years to mature, ripe green Dao carapace length of 90-125 cm and weighing more than 100 kg. After mature turtles by the length of the tail to identify male and female, male green turtle's tail 衟 be about half the length of the carapace, while the female green turtle 衟 generally not exceed the trailing edge of the carapace. Immature male and female turtles can not be identified from the appearance. Green turtles lay their eggs mature 衟 preseason, male and female tortoise turtle foraging habitat will migrate from the sea to spawn near the beach for mating, often seen with a number of competing head male a female turtle turtle mating, female turtles After mating, the male turtle will each sperm stored, until the egg is mature, and then fertilized in batches, so female turtles lay their eggs in a season, there will be several acts ashore to lay eggs. Once the mating period, male sea turtles that forage on their own returns. But not spawn every year to mate, research shows that on average about every 2-9 years will be migration, mating, spawning the length of the interval will be subject to the physiological effects of environmental factors such as climate, food, temperature, etc., the mother turtle conditions also affect their reproductive cycle; Therefore, the annual number of female turtles come ashore to lay eggs vary greatly, there is no certain periodicity. Most mature female green turtles lay their eggs on 衟 sparsely populated beach. Their habitat loyalty is high, after the identified habitats, regardless of how far away from the vast majority of green turtle 衟 will be back to the original breeding habitat. However, if the spawning habitat has been severely damaged or changed, such as: after multiple attempts are still unable to successfully dig the hole, landing repeatedly subjected to severe interference or obstruction can not stop every shore, will make the green turtle was forced to abandon 衟The original nesting beach, re-find a more suitable breeding areas In the waters near the South China Sea, Green 衟 turtle mating season is about a year in March and April, while the spawning season is between about May to October each year to July and August is the peak spawning period. Each season will be the first female turtles come ashore birth to nine nest egg (an average of about four nest egg), about 110 turtle eggs per clutch. (2) Incubation After an incubation period of 50 days or so, a small green 衟 turtles will hatch. Hatching hatchling coated soft and toughness eggshell, the above there are many stereotypes egg hole is gas exchange with the outside world and important structures needed to absorb moisture during the incubation, therefore, the situation will be hatching hatchling egg nest location and beach rainfall impact. And similar to most other reptiles, green Dao turtle turtle eggs hatch sex depends on the third to fifth week (ie, the middle of the incubation period, known as the sex determination period; sex determination period; sdp) sand temperature. Studies show that green turtles 衟 central temperature (ie, 50% of egg nest temperatures produce males and 50% females when; pivotal temperature), although due to different regions vary, but typically between 28.0 ~ 30.3 ℃, Sex determination of when the temperature is higher than the central temperature, female turtles are hatched, when the temperature is lower than the central temperature, hatched turtles are male, while the central temperature ranging between sand temperature will hatch sex ratio close to the hatchlings. (3) hatchlings Newly hatched hatchlings, straight carapace length between four to five centimeters, almost the length of an adult palm. Carapace is mainly black, abdomen and carapace edge fin edge is white. The same little green 衟 turtle nest will probably climb out of the nest egg (called a prolapse) at the same time, shelling out the hatchlings will take about 3-7 days time to climb out of the nest egg. Avoid the enemy instincts, the hatchlings usually lower in the summer night when the sand temperature, will climb out of the ground, creeping toward the brighter sea front row. When it reaches the sea, the waves will be by nature, along the sound of the waves, rushed into the waves, struggling to swim out of the open sea. You can not stop outbound 24 hours to reduce the chance of predation. In hatchlings back to the sea and then grow into twenty or thirty centimeters between turtles, because no one had seen them in the offshore or on the beach, when the technology is not developed enough in the past, and can not really find the place they live, so are used "The Lost Years" to describe this human life history invisible infancy. In recent years, due to navigation and marine exploration technology significantly advances, the current evidence suggests that the hatchlings seem to hide under the ocean drifting Sargasso group, living plankton planktonic life. But still can not determine how the hatchlings reach the Sargasso group; perhaps wandering along the nearshore currents arrived, still can not have a very precise understanding of small turtles grow through. (4) sub-adult turtles Small green turtles grow to 衟 straight carapace length two, thirty centimeters only after the end of their planktonic life, this time called sub-adult turtles, they will in shallow water near the shore, choose a rich seaweed or macroalgae habitat _set_tlers to plant-eating sea benthic life. And such areas overlap more with the distribution of coral reefs, coral reefs and therefore often can be seen in the green turtle Dao trace. In the growth process, may reside in a fixed feeding habitat, may also be in a different age, migration to a different habitat to live. In either case, after mature will return to its original birthplace to procreate. Green turtle Dao mature body length in eight, ninety centimeters or more.
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Protection level
National animal protection. To avoid killing and destruction of the human habitat, the International Union for Conservation at ((iucn); international union for conservation of nature) Redbook (red list of threatened species), all named for the endangered sea turtles wild animals and plants Trade Convention (or simply CITES; (cites); convention of international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora) Appendix I species.
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Relevant information
(1) Natural Enemies 衟 green turtle turtle due to huge size, back and plastron hard and fast swimming speed, and therefore, in addition to humans, there is little major predators. Although once successful turtle losing end of a flipper or flippers have been bite wounds, but this is the situation like a shark or other ferocious animals such as crocodiles and other attacks are rare. But the little green turtle predators 衟 it is very much in the land of various animals on the beach, such as: livestock, sand crabs, raccoons, red ants, snakes, birds of prey and so will attack small turtles in the sea there are various species of carnivorous fish such as: shark, swordfish, etc. Due to lack of adequate defense capability, a small turtle carapace hard enough, run (swim) is not fast enough, so it is easy to become these predators cuisine, little green turtle 衟 high mortality in the first year of study Data estimates that less than one-thousandth of a small green Dao turtles can grow up to turtles. (2) human disturbance In terms of human disturbance, destruction of spawning habitat including harassment spawning female turtles, turtle eggs improper mining, capturing turtles and improper construction and development, digging beach sand used for other purposes, shore light _set_tings. Harassment, including spawning female green turtle Dao catch them and have no intention of deliberate interference visits, particularly in beach activities mostly unsuspecting tourists, so turtles ecological education and ecotourism green Dao turtle conservation is very important. Too much interference will not be the mother turtles lay their eggs, and could never abandon the spawning habitat; without digging turtle eggs as capture Dao little green turtle is a direct reduction in the number of newborn tortoise, these three factors will cause the spawning habitat Green 衟 to reduce the number of turtle populations. Improper construction and development, dig sand beach sand used for other purposes becomes gravel beach will make even disappear. As a result, not only the mother turtles lay eggs nowhere, after shelling out a small turtle climb but also because Shaisi gravel and sand. On another, bright lights _set_ up on shore, street or building near the beach and issued, will interfere with phototaxis hatchlings find the ocean, but can not find the way to the sea, during the brutally murderous predators or exposed corpse road . Anthropogenic hazards, including marine habitats caused by improper fishing methods turtle bycatch problem is serious, make up the turtles die each year from countless false, so noaa promote turtle escape devices (turtle_excluder_device), in order to reduce the number of sea turtle bycatch. Another marine pollution also makes turtles infection, residual winding fishing line may also cause neck turtles or turtle limbs amputation and even death. These man-made destruction, sea turtle populations are severely reduced survival.