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Hot: 3 to 5 °C
Cold: -3 to 4 °C
2K to 6K USD
1 to 10 PSI
Swimming: 1-1 Miles per hour (1-2 km/h)
Animal Type: Omnivores
Among sea turtle species, the Atlantic ridley—or Lepidochelys kempii as it is officially named and more often known—is the rarest and most threatened. Named after Richard Kemp, a fisherman and scientist who assisted Samuel Garman in collecting specimens for his 1880 description, the species was first described by Garman. Notable characteristics of the Atlantic ridley sea turtle include its unusual nesting style, environmental requirements, and the difficulties in protecting it.
The Gulf of Mexico, and more specifically the coasts of the United States and Mexico, is associated with the Kemp's ridley sea turtle's origin. The breeding grounds of these turtles are quite small, and the great bulk of nesting takes place at Rancho Nuevo in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
Lepidochelys kempii, more often known as Kemp's ridley, is the smallest and one of the most endangered species of sea turtles. It lives in the Atlantic Ocean. In 1880, Samuel Garman provided the first detailed account of this species, which was subsequently named after Richard Kemp, a naturalist and fisherman who had procured the original specimens for analysis. Kemp's ridley sea turtles are readily identifiable by their five pairs of costal scutes and olive-gray, heart-shaped carapace.
If you're looking for a place to see Kemp's ridley sea turtles breeding, you'll have to narrow your search to the Gulf of Mexico, specifically to Rancho Nuevo in Tamaulipas, Mexico. What makes this place renowned is the "arribada," a natural occurrence when hundreds of females come ashore at the same time to lay eggs, often throughout the day. Sea turtles often nest at night and in smaller groups, so this mass nesting activity is rather rare. Andrés Herrera shot the first known arribada on video in 1947, showcasing the distinctive reproductive habits of this species.