kentmorrdave
Contributor
Love Cozumel diving, always a surprise no matter how many times we dive!
Big Ole Turtle
- Thread starter kentmorrdave
- Start date
Please register or login
Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.
Benefits of registering include
- Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
- A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
- You can make this box go away
OP
kentmorrdave
Contributor
stevenq99
Contributor
Nice always a treat.
Ldavis4662
Registered
Cozdreamer
Contributor
slow and steady 'ol wise one! Glad he's/she's still around!
It's a he. Notice the very long "tail."
deepsea21
Contributor
How do we really know the age of a turtle other than size perhaps? I am guessing the OP figured that because of the algae growth on the turtle's shell it was old. I would thought the same looking at the 1st pic so I researched a little bit and it appears turtles can carry all kinds of critters on them from algae to barnacles to small starfish to about anything that can manage to attach itself or hop on board for a long ride. Also, what has attached has a great deal to do with where they spend the majority of their time or where they have traveled from.
In Coz most turtles I've seen seem to have very clean shells and this one makes me wonder if perhaps he isn't a wanderer and stays in the local waters that enabled him to develop an algae mass on his shell that seems to mimic the seafloor of the area in the photo.
I read arguments about whether or not turtle conservationists should clean the shells of turtles when being tagged but the discussion goes both ways as growth and barnacles that may look like they are harming the turtle or creating drag could actually be helping it in terms of providing camouflage. Looking at this one, the growth appears to provide great camouflage from above allowing it to blend into the seabed from predators.
It is best we just leave marine life alone and, in my opinion, that includes the continued snagging and tagging of sea turtles. We've tagged enough and given their lifespan the world has enough tagged turtles to track. Heck, it's almost special these days to see one that hasn't been tagged! Even what can seem to be good intentions such as tagging and cleaning a turtle's shell of organisms could, in fact, be doing the exact opposite.
So, old turtle or just one that has decided to hang in the same shallows a long time... Who knows?
In Coz most turtles I've seen seem to have very clean shells and this one makes me wonder if perhaps he isn't a wanderer and stays in the local waters that enabled him to develop an algae mass on his shell that seems to mimic the seafloor of the area in the photo.
I read arguments about whether or not turtle conservationists should clean the shells of turtles when being tagged but the discussion goes both ways as growth and barnacles that may look like they are harming the turtle or creating drag could actually be helping it in terms of providing camouflage. Looking at this one, the growth appears to provide great camouflage from above allowing it to blend into the seabed from predators.
It is best we just leave marine life alone and, in my opinion, that includes the continued snagging and tagging of sea turtles. We've tagged enough and given their lifespan the world has enough tagged turtles to track. Heck, it's almost special these days to see one that hasn't been tagged! Even what can seem to be good intentions such as tagging and cleaning a turtle's shell of organisms could, in fact, be doing the exact opposite.
So, old turtle or just one that has decided to hang in the same shallows a long time... Who knows?
Last edited:
Loggerhead sea turtles don't really care if they have algae, barnacles, etc. on their carapace. On the other hand, green sea turtles love to be clean. That's why you'll see "clean greens" because they will rub their flippers, carapaces, etc. on hard surfaces to rid themselves of epibiota. I've seen green sea turtles at cleaning stations where the fish are helping to clean the turtle. Hawksbill sea turtles will usually be quite clean, too.
It's hard to determine the age of a sea turtle, however, by weighing and measuring a turtle, a marine vet can give a pretty good estimate. Sea turtles can live 80-100 years as long as they don't get in trouble. The first picture of the turtle shows a rather large tail (cloaca) and that's how we know the turtle is a male. The cloaca is a common chamber and outlet into which intestinal, urinary and genital tracts open. All turtles have a tail, however, the female retains a short tail while the male grows a long heavy tail. Sea turtles don't start mating until they are 25-30 years old. This ol' boy has probably been mating for awhile. Nesting season in Cozumel should begin in a couple months. Nice!
It's hard to determine the age of a sea turtle, however, by weighing and measuring a turtle, a marine vet can give a pretty good estimate. Sea turtles can live 80-100 years as long as they don't get in trouble. The first picture of the turtle shows a rather large tail (cloaca) and that's how we know the turtle is a male. The cloaca is a common chamber and outlet into which intestinal, urinary and genital tracts open. All turtles have a tail, however, the female retains a short tail while the male grows a long heavy tail. Sea turtles don't start mating until they are 25-30 years old. This ol' boy has probably been mating for awhile. Nesting season in Cozumel should begin in a couple months. Nice!
Here's a big ol' turtle from December with love in it's heart.
Similar threads
