hawksbill turtle
And Nemo asked, “how old can a turtle live for?”
We were diving at Mabini, Batangas last year. The turtle was feeding on some sponges when we nearly ran over him. He had good camouflage with the rocks. He was about 3-4ft long and his shell had some jagged edges. Battle wounds or old age?
From Wikipedia:
The Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a
sea turtle that is distinguished by the following characteristics.
- beak like mouth
- elongated head tapering sharply to a point
- V-shaped lower jaw
- bird like appearance
- alternating gait on land (compared to the Green Sea Turtle or Leatherback Sea Turtle)
- flippers with two claws on each
- heart shaped carapaces on younger age which elongates in maturity
- unusually thick scutes mostly overlapping at the posterior
- plastron scutes are white or yellowish, sometimes with little dark pigmentation
It has also 4 pairs of frontal scutes and the epidermal scutes overlaying the bones build the turtle’s shell. Additionally, it has 2 pairs of prefrontal scales.