DIE LEDERSCHILDKRÓTE DERMOCHELYS CORIACEA L. IN KOLUMBIEN

Abstract

This is the first report of the leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, nesting on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. On a 7.5 km long beach east of Santa Marta, in 1970 7 nesting females, 4 other nests, and 7 emergences of hatchlings were observed. Some natural history notes in comparison with the nesting behaviour of the loggerhead sea turtle are given. Two of the females were tagged with tags numbered D 602 and D 605 (Gainesville), one of them reobserved nesting again at the same beach, 20 days later.