They learn the magnetic signature of their natal beach through geomagnetic imprinting. Hatchlings trying to get to the sea are eaten by birds, crabs, and other predators, and again by fish, octopus, sharks, and others once they reach the water.Ī study published in 2018 * shows that Loggerhead Sea Turtles use the earth's magnetic fields to navigate back to within about 50 miles of where they were born. The eggs hatch in 60 - 70 days and hatchlings emerge in the morning or in the evening and begin a frantic crawl towards the water. Nests are robbed by humans, and other mammals such as dogs, raccoons, and rats. Her total time on the beach is 1 - 2 hours. She scrapes out a shallow body pit, then digs a nest and lays a clutch of 50 - 200+ eggs.
Sheltered, short, steep sandy beaches are preferred, and nests are often dug in the sandy soil among vegetation instead of open sand.Ī female Hawksbill emerges from the ocean at night and crawls onto the nesting beach, using all four limbs to rapidly walk over the sand, instead of using just the two forelimbs to pull herself as other sea turtles do.
In the Pacific, nesting has been observed in Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, and Hawaii.įemales nest every 2 - 3 years between August and November at an average of 4 - 5 times per season. Hawksbills mate in shallow water off the nesting beach and nest individually, not in large groups like other sea turtles. Feeds upon many invertebrates, preferring sponges (including toxic sponges) in some areas, mollusks, jellyfish, corals, sea anemones, sea urchins, crabs, rock lobster, fish, algae, sea grasses, and mangroves. Hawksbills are possibly the least migratory of sea turtles, but some tagged individuals have been recorded traveling long distances.Īs with other sea turtles, the yearly activity during the breeding year of a Hawksbill includes a long period of foraging, migration to nesting beach, nesting, and migration back to the feeding grounds. They will readily bite to defend themseves. Hawksbills sleep at night on the bottom, surfacing occasionally for air. They are apparently diurnal, becoming nocturnal when nesting. Not much is known about Hawksbill behavior due to their solitary habits. Males have a long tail that extends well past the edge of the shell and a curved nail on the front of each flipper. The head scales are black to chestnut brown in the center, with lighter margins. The first costal shield does not touch the nuchal.Ī long, narrow, sharp snout, like that of a hawk, gives this turtle its common name, Hawksbill.Ĭolor is a dark greenish brown with a marbled or radiating pattern. There are two pairs of prefrontal scales, and 4 costal shields on each side of the carapace. The shields overlap like shingles, except in hatchlings and very old animals. (Stebbins 2003)Ī small to medium-sized sea turtle with paddle-like limbs, a heart-shaped carapace with a central keel and a serrated rear edge. Sea Turtle Rescue Center, Sea Turtle Inc., South Padre Island, Texas.Ĭlose-up of shell of captive juvenile shown above.Īdults are 18 - 36 inches in shell length (46 - 91 cm) and 30 - 280 lbs. Stuffed and mounted Adult, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural HistoryĪtlantic Hawksbill Sea Turtle - Eretmochelys imbricata imbricataīelow are pictures of the Atlantic Hawksbill, which is similar in appearance to the Pacific Hawksbill, the subspecies which occurs in California.Ĭaptive rescued juvenile from the Gulf of Mexico.
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