First Record of Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle, <i>Lepidochelys kempii</i> (Garman, 1880), in the Waters of Martinique Island (Lesser Antilles)
Damien Chevallier,
Jacques Fretey,
Jean Lescure,
Marc Girondot
Affiliations
Damien Chevallier
Unité de Recherche BOREA, MNHN, CNRS 8067, SU, IRD 207, UCN, UA, Station de Recherche Marine de Martinique, Quartier Degras, Petite Anse, 97217 Les Anses d’Arlet, France
Jacques Fretey
Sea Turtle Research Center—Chélonée, 46260 Beauregard, France
Jean Lescure
National Museum of Natural History, Institute of Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity–CP 30, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France
Marc Girondot
Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Évolution, Équipe de Processus Écologiques et Pressions Anthropiques, CNRS, AgroParisTech et Université Paris-Saclay, UMR 8079, 91190 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
An adult female Lepidochelys kempii was found trapped in drifting sargassum south of Martinique; this is the southernmost report of this taxon in the Lesser Antilles arc. Determining the limits of distribution and the existence of possible sympatry between L. kempii and L. olivacea in certain subregions of the Caribbean has been hindered by numerous misidentifications. We review the available data and propose a new distribution map in the Caribbean, which can serve as a basis for future studies.
