The Hawksbill Sea Turtel

Taxonomy
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Testudines
Family:	Cheloniidae
Genus:	Eretmochelys
Species:	Eretmochelys imbricata

Status:	Critically Endangered

The hawksbill sea turtle is a small to medium sized turtle. Nesting females average about 87 centimeters in curved carapace length and can weigh to 80 kilograms in the Caribbean. The record weight of one animal was 127 kg and was found in 1952. Hatchlings average about 42 millimeters in straight carapace length and range in weight from 13.5 to 19.5 grams.

Hawksbills are usually found around coastal reefs, rocky areas, estuaries and lagoons. They have been located from the eastern Atlantic to the southern tip of Africa. In the Americas, Hawksbills occur in the east Pacific from the U.S. to Peru and in the West Atlantic from Nova Scotia to Brazil. Additionally, they are found in the coastal waters of Australia and Indonesia.

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