Kemp's ridley turtle
Lepidochelys kempii
- Scientific name
- Lepidochelys kempii
- Group
- Sea turtles
- Rarity
- Legendary
- Where to see it
- Caribbean & Tropical Atlantic
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Critically endangered
Did you know?
Kemp's ridley is the rarest and smallest sea turtle, and one of the only ones to nest in broad daylight, during mass nesting events called arribadas concentrated almost entirely on a single beach in Mexico. Its nearly circular shell sets it apart from other sea turtles.
What defines this group — Sea turtles
Reptiles that went back to the sea: they breathe air and return to lay eggs on the beach where they hatched.
- Lungs, not gills: they have to surface to breathe.
- The front limbs have become paddles, and the shell can no longer tuck them away.
- Females find their way back to their birth beach, sometimes across thousands of kilometres.
Other species in this group
- Green sea turtle
- Loggerhead turtle
- Hawksbill turtle
- Olive ridley turtle
- Leatherback turtle
- Flatback turtle