Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Dodd, C. Kenneth, Jr.

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Number of Pages: 2Integrative BiologyEarth and Planetary Science

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Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. Dodd, C. Kenneth, Jr. 1990. Caretta. Caretta Ralinesque Loggerhead Sea Turtles Caretta Raf~nesque, 1814:66. Type-species, Caretta nanrta Rafin- esque, 1814 (=Testudo Caretta Linnaeus, 1758) by monotypy. Chelonia (7bahssocbelys) Fitzinger, 1835:121. Type-species, Tes- tudo c o u m  LackpMe, 1788 (= Tesludo Caretta Linnaeus, 1758) by Fitzinger 1843:30, explicitly proposed as a subgenus. 7bahssochelys: Bonaparte, 1838:142. First use as a full genus. Caouana Cocteau, in Sagra, 1838:35. Type-species, Testudo caou- a m  Lackpi.de, 1788, by tautonymy. Halichelys Fitzinger, 1843:30. Type-species, Caretta atra Merrem, 1820, by original designation. 7bahssiochelb Nardo, 1864:1421. Ex m r e .  Eremonia Gray, 1873:408. Type-species, Caouana elongata Gray, 1844, by monotypy. 7bahsiochelys: Philippi, 1887:85. Ex emre. Thallasochelys: Barbour and Cole, 1906:148. Ex m r e .  ?Pliocbelys Portis, 1890:17. Type-species, Pliochelys dmlicta P o d ,  1890, by monotypy. ?Proganosaums Portis, 1890:25. Type-species, Proganaraumsper- tinax Portis, 1890, by monotypy. Content. One extant species, Caretta caretta, is recognized (see Remarks). A number of fossils have been assigned tentatively, and perhaps in most cases incorrectly, to the genus (see Fossil Record, Remarks). Definition. [Adapted from Smith and Smith (1980) and Pritchard andTrebbau (198411. Caretta is characterized by 5-7 (usu- ally 5) pairs of pleural scutes; usually 3 pairs of inframarginal sa tes ;  cervical s a t e  usually contacting pleural scutes; elongate carapace with intercostal fontanelles that dose completely only in large adults; 7-1 1 (usually 9) neural bones with the neural series often posteriorly interrupted by mesially contiguous pairs of costal bones; no pores on inframarginals; intergular s a t e  absent or small; hyo- and hypoplas- tra with numerous variable elongate projections medially and later- ally; head massive; usual exclusion of frontals from orbits; two pairs of prefrontal scales; irregular, often asymmetrical division of the scales surrounding the large frontal scale on top of head; alveolar surface of maxilla not ridged or vertically ribbed; vomer not reaching premaxillae or separating maxillae; prefrontals contacting vomer and palatines; blunt ridge at anterior margin of choanae; pterygoids deeply concave posteriorly; crista praetemporalis strong; mandibu- lar symphy-sis rounded, concave, longer than broad; neither labial nor lingual margins raised as cutting edges; no symphysial ridge. Descriptions. Dodd (1988, 1990) provided references for descriptions of all life stages of C. caretta. Illustrations. Dodd (1990) presented a general guide to il- lustrations of C. caretta. A more comprehensive review of whole animal illustrations (whether photographs are in black and white or color, the geographic location, the type of activity involved, and the life stage illustrated), external morphology, internal anatomy, and developmental biology (whether illustrations are line drawings or photographs) is provided by Dodd (1988). Distribution. Dodd (1988,1990) presented detailed data on the modem distribution of C. caretta. Dodd (1990) illustrated the range of C. carettain the eastern hemisphere. The location of fossils described as Caretta are discussed in Fossil Record. Fossil Record A number of fossils have been referred to the genus Caretta primarily from Eocene and Miocene deposits in Europe and northern Africa (Kuhn, 1964). These include Chelone bellunensis Bergounioux, 1953, Italy and Tunisia; Thakochelys eocaenica Lydekker, 1889, England; Thahssochelys k m p i  Ber- gounioux, 1936 (nec Lepidochelys kempii Garman), France; ma&- sochelys lezennensis Bergounioux, 1936, France; 7balassochelys Map. Caretta in the Western Hemisphere. Symbols: solid cirde, major nesting area; open circle, minor or isolated nesting area; open square, non-nesting record; star, fossil site; arrows, designated type l&alities (~ermuda; Birnini, Bahamas) libyca Andrews, 1901, Egypt; 7bahssocbelys mutinemis Zavattari, 1921, Italy; 7balassochelys pho@atica Stefano, 1903, Tunisia. These taxa are discussed in part by Kuhn (1%4), Mlynarski (1976), Smith and Smith (1980), and Pritchard and Trebbau (1984). The systematic position of these forms, including Caretta eocaenica, is unclear (Mlynarski, 1976; Pritchard and Trebbau, 1984). For instance, T. pbosphatica, although similar to Caretta, is amally a toxochelyid (lvloody, 1972). Fossils described as C. caretta were reported from European Eocene deposits (Faura y Sans, 1915, Spain; Bergounioux, 1958) but their systematic placement is questioned (Mlynarski, 1976). Fossils referable to the genus Caretta from Plio- cene deposits in Florida are in the Florida Museum of Natural History (Gary Morgan, pers. cornm.) and are known from a nearly complete skull and scattered bones from Pliocene phosphate deposits near Aurora, North Carolina (Zug, in press). In the Americas, C. care- is known only from a right squamosal bone from Pleistocene deposits at Vero, Indian River County, Florida (Hay, 1917). Pliocbelys, known only from a small fragment of shell from the Pliocene of Italy (Portis, 1890; Kuhn, 1964; Smith and Smith, 1980), was questionably placed in synonymy with Caretta (Romer, 1956); it was not discussed by Mlynarski (1976). Proganmaums, described from a single vertebra from the Pliocene of Italy (Portis, 1890; Kuhn, 1964; Smith and Smith, 1980), has been regarded as a pleurodire (Nopcsa, 1926; Kuhn, 1%4), but Romer (1956) placed it questionably in synonymy with Caretta. It was not discussed by Mlynarski (1976). Pertinent Literature. A bibliography on C. carelta was published by Dodd (1987), and Dodd (1988, 1990) provided a discussion and review of the literature on C. caretta. Misidentifica- tions involving Caretta and Lepidochelys have resulted in consider- able confusion in the literature on these species (see Remarks). See Fossil Record for a review of the literature on fossil forms referred to Caretta. Etymology. The name Caretta is a latinized version of the French word "caret," meaning turtle, tortoise, or sea turtle (Smith and Smith, 1980). Remarks. No sea turtle remains referable to any modem genus of cheloniid turtle are known from the abundantly fossilifer- ous middle Miocene Calvert Formation of Maryland and Virginia (Weems, 1974). In contrast, many mid-Pliocene sea turtle remains from North Carolina (Zug, in press) can be assigned to modern genera, including Caretta. This lack of fossils provides important, although circumstantial, evidence that the modem genera of sea turtles had not evolved before the late Miocene (Robert Weerns, pen. comm.). Reports of fragmentary Carettaremains older than late Miocene should be viewed with skepticism. Many names have been used in combination with Caretta (or 7balassocbelys) but are now relegated to other genera (see Table 27 in Pritchard and Trebbau, 1984). For instance, C. mtrata Guard 1858 (U.S. National Museum cotypes 012387-8, carapaces, colleaed in the Fiji Islands by the U.S. Exploring Expedition) is referable to ErehMche&s imbricata. C. remiuaga Hay, 1908 (U.S. National Museum 09973, skull, colleaed in Ventosa Bay on the western coast of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico, by F. Surnichrast) is referable to kpidochelys olivacea. There are numerous instances of misidenfifications, usually involving Caretta and hpidochelys, in the literature on sea turtles, particularly in the Pacific Ocean. These misidentifications have been discussed by Dodd (1988), Nihimura (1967) for the westem Pacific, and Frazier (1985) for the eastern Pacific. Camtta is extremely rare in the central and eastern Pacific. Literature references to Caretta olivacea are usually kpidochelys, but in some instances, descrip- tions are based on  a combined suite of characters (e.g., Dera- niyagala, 1930) or are in fact C. caretta (e.g., Hiro, 1936). Literature Cited Andrews, C. W. 1901. Prelirmnary note on  some recently discovered extinct vertebrates from Egypt, 2. Geolog. Mag. (London), n.s. 4, 8(10):436444. Barbour, T., and L. J. Cole. 1906. Reptilia, Amphibia, and Pisces, p. 146-155 In: Vertebrata fromYucatan. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., Hvvard 50(5):101-159. Bergounioux, F. M. 1936. %alassochelys kzennensis, t o m e  nou- v d e  du nord de la France. Ann. Soc. Gkol. Nord Lille 61 :3542. 1953. Chaoniens fossiles des terrains tertiaires dela Venktie. C. R. Acad. Sci. 236(2):222-224. . 1958. Les reptiles fossiles de la catalogue. Estud.Geo1. (Ma- drid) 14(39):129-219. Bonapute, C. L. 1838. Tavola analitica dei chelonii o testuggini. G. Arcad. Sci. Len. Arti, Roma, 699-64. Deraniyagala, P. E. P. 1930. TheTestudinata of Ceylon. CeylonJ. Sci. B 16(1):43-88. Dodd, C. K., Jr. 1987. A bibliography of the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta cars#a(lurtlleus), 1758. U. S. Fish Wildl. Serv., En- dang. Sp. Rep. (16).1-64. . 1988. Synopsis of the biological data on the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta (Linnaeus 1758). U. S. Fish Wildl. Serv., Biol. Rep. 88(14):vii + 110 p. . 1990. Caretta caretta. Cat. Amer. Amph. Rept.:483.1483.7. Faun y Sans, M. 1915. Una tormga fbil  en el eoc&ico de Gerona. Bol. Soc. Espan. Hist. Natur. (Madrid) 15(6):291-295. Fitzinger, L.J.F.J. 1835. Entwud einer systematischen Anordnung der Schildkroten nach den Grundsatzen der natiirlichen Methode. Ann. Mus. Wien 1 :103-128. . 1M3. Systema reptilium Fasciculus primus, Amblyglossae. Braumiiller et Seidel, Vienna. 106 + vi p. Frazier, J. 1985. Misidentifications of sea turtles in the eastern Pacifc: Caretta caretta and @idochelys olivacea. J. Herpetol. 19(1):1- 11. Guard, C. 1858. Herpetology. Prepared under the superintendence of S. F. Baud. United States Exploring Expedition during the years 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, under the command of Charles W i e s ,  U.S.N. Vol. 20. J.P. Lippincott & Co., Philadel- phia. xvii + 492 p., and Atlas, 32 pl. Gray, J. E. 1844. Catalogue of the toaoises, crocodiles, and amphis- baenians in the colleaion of the British Museum. London. viii + 8 0 p .  . 1873. Notes on the genen of turtles (Oiacopodes) and es- pecially on their skeletons and skulls. Proc. Zool. Soc., London 1873:395411. Hay, 0. P. 1908. On three existing species of sea turtles, one of them (Caretta remivaga) new. Proc. U. S. Natl. Mus. 34(1605):183- 198. 1917. Veaebrata mostly from StratumNo. 3, at Vero, Florida, together with descriptions of new species. Ann. Rep. Florida Geol. Surv. 9:43-68. Hiro, F. 1936. Occurrence of the cirriped Stomatohpas eleganson a loggerhead turtle found at Seto. Annot. Zool. Japan 15(3):312- 320. Kuhn, 0 .  1964. Fossilium catalogus, I: Animalia. Pars 107, Testudi- nes. Dr. W. Junk, Gravenhage, 299 p. Lackede, B.G. E. de la V. 1788. Histoire naturklle des quadruedes ovipares et des serpens. Vol. 1. Hotel de Thou, Paris. 668 p. Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systerna naturaeper regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differen- tiis, synonymis, locis. 10th ed. Vol. 1. L. Salvius, Stockholm. iv + 826 p. Lydekker, R. 1889. Notes on a chelonian humerus from the middle Eocene of Braddesham. Proc. Geologists' Assoc. 11:177-179. Merrem, B. 1820. Tentamen Systematis Amphibomm (Versuch eines Systems der Amphibien). Johann Christian Krieger, Marburg. xv + 191 p. Mlynarski, M. 1976. Handbuch der Palaoherpetologie. Part 7, Tes- tudines. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart, 130 p. Moody, R. T. J. 1972. The turtle fauna of the Eocene phosphates of Metlaoui, Tunisia. Proc. Geol. Assoc. 83(3):327-336. Nardo, G. 1861. Sopra une nuova rarissima specie di Cheloniano pescato n d e  nostre spiaggie. Atti R. 1st. Ven. Sci. Lett. Arti, Ser. 3, 9:141@-1422. Nihiiura,  S. 1967. The loggerhead turtles in Japan and neighboring waters flestudinata: Cheloniidae). Publ. Seto Mar. Biol. Lab. 15(1):19-35. Nopsca, F. von. 1926. Fossilium catalogus, 1 Anhalia. Pars 27, Os- teologia reptilium fossilium et recentium, Berlin. 397 p. Philippi, R. A. 1887. Vorlaufige Nachricht iiber die chilenischen See- schildkriiten und einige Fische der chilenischen Kiiste. Zool. Garten, Frankfurt am Main, 28:84-88. Portis, A. 1890. I rettili pliocenici del Vddarno superiore e di alcune altre localita plioceniche di Toscana. Privately publ., Firenze. 32 p. Pritchard, P. C. H., and P. Trebbau. 1984. The turtles of Venezuela. Soc. Stud. Amph. Rept. Conuib. Herpetol. (2):viii + 403 p. Rafinesque, C. S. 1814. Prodromo di erpetologica Sicilians. Specchio delle Scienze o giornale encidopedicodi Sicilia (Palermo) 2(9): 65-67. Romer, A. S. 1956. Osteology of the reptiles. Univ. Chicago Press, Chicago. xxi + 772 p. Sagra, D. Ram6n de la. 1838-1843. Historia fisica, politica y natural de la isla de Cuba. Part 2. Bertrand, Paris. 12 Vols. Smith, Hobart M., and Rozella B. Smith. 1980. Synopsis of the herp- etofauna of Mexico. Vol. VI. Guide to Mexican turtles. Biblio- graphic addendum 111. John Johnson, North Bennington, Ver- mont, xviii + 1044 p. Stefano, G. de. 1903. Nuovi rettili degli strati a fosfato della Tunisia. Bol. Soc. Geol. Ital. (Roma) 2251-80. Weems, R. E. 1974. Middle Miocene sea turtles (Sylhus,  Procob-  chebs, Bephophoncc) from the Calvea Formation. J. Paleontol. 48(2):278-303. Zavanari, E. 1921. Descrizione di un cranio fossile di 7%alassochelys del Modenese. Palaeontgr. Ital. (Pisa) 27:147-150. Zug, G. R. in press. Turtles of the the Lee Creek Mine (Pliocene: North Carolina). Smithsonian Conuib. Paleobiol. C. KennethDodd, Jr., National Ecology Research Center, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 412 N. E. 16th. Ave., Room 250, GainesviUe, Florida 32601. Primary editor for this account, Carl H. Ernst. Published 31 July 1990 and Copyright 01990 by the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 

Caretta

Dodd, C. Kenneth, Jr

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Caretta

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