Bonaire Turtle ID (Video)

[scubaman5000]

I posted a video of a turtle I found in Bonaire on youtube (among others with several more videos to come) and I want to be sure to label the video correctly. Unfortunately, I can't find anything online that will help me ID this turtle definitively. I suspect it's either a Hawksbill or a Green.

I'll leave this one to you experts out there. Here's the video.


Also if you like feel free to check out the other videos I've posted. YouTube - Scubaman5000's Channel I'm new to the underwater video thing and I welcome any criticism people may have. If I've made any errors on other videos please let me know so that I can correct them.


Oh and one more thing, if anyone knows of any good online resources that I can use to ID other creatures from Bonaire I'd love to see them. Thanks!

 

[deborahdelamar]

That's a Hawksbill that seemed to be trying to figure out what kind of critter you are!

 

[scubaman5000]

That's a Hawksbill that seemed to be trying to figure out what kind of critter you are!

Indeed he was. Thanks for the ID, out of curiosity though what sets a Hawksbill apart from a Green turtle? I have a few more turtle videos I'm going to be posting and I'd like to be able to tell the difference.

 

[deborahdelamar]

Hawksbills have pronounced "beaks" while the heads of Greens are rounded in profile. The Hawksbill's shell is also very jagged at the tail. Here's a downloadable ID card: http://www.reef.org/reef_files/TurtleID.pdf

 

[scubaman5000]

Hawksbills have pronounced "beaks" while the heads of Greens are rounded in profile. The Hawksbill's shell is also very jagged at the tail. Here's a downloadable ID card: http://www.reef.org/reef_files/TurtleID.pdf

This is excellent, exactly what I've been looking for. Thank you very much. Also I just posted another turtle video if you're interested. Looks like this one is also a Hawksbill but much older. I think the other video I have may actually be a Green Turtle... I'll have to wait till I get home to check.

 

[deborahdelamar]

What happened to my post -- changed to dots?! I wanted you to know that I was impressed to see that old guy -- never seen an h-bill that old! Very cool!

 

[Deefstes]

There is another feature that can clinch the ID pretty easily. Hawksbill Turtles have four square prefontal scutes (the scales on the head between the eyes) while Green Turtles have two rectangular prefontal scutes.

Also, Hawksbill Turtles haves two claws on their front flippers as opposed to Green Turtles that have only one. This requires closer scrutiny but can usually be seen if you look for it.

Both of your turtles display the above features which are congruent with Hawksbill Turtle. Nice videos, makes me wish I wasn't sitting in front of a computer right now.

 

[scubaman5000]

It looks like that other turtle was indeed a green turtle. Just wanted to say thanks to you guys for teaching me a bit more about them.

I noticed the scales you mentioned Deefstes in the videos. Thanks for the tip.

 

[DamselDoc]

Nice videos... Thank you for showing both green and hawksbill turtles. Question... I have seen quite a few of each and it seems like the patterns on the shells are distinctly different. If you know which turtles are in the area you are diving, can you usually tell the type of turtle by looking at the shell pattern/coloring?

 

[deborahdelamar]

Sometimes you can - the Hawksbill's shell has overlapping scutes or plates while the green's are butted up to one another like tiles. But usually these guys are moving away from you or turning in such a way or, especially with big loggerheads (or scubaman's old hawksbill), the shell is so covered in barnacles & algae, that the ID has to be confirmed by other characteristics. The ID card, referenced earlier, has a lot of ID keys plus there's Deefste's claw hint. Then practice, practice, practice -- another reason to dive a lot!