Cook Islands Biodiversity Database

Species Page

Back to: «« Search Page | « Results Page

Add to My List

Caretta caretta

‘Onu ?? (PL)

Loggerhead Turtle

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	On Palmerston (from video)	29KB
Article:	Identify Cook Islands Marine Turtles Gerald McCormack, September 2005	Read

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Loggerhead Turtle

TRADITIONAL NAMES: ‘Onu ?what (PL)

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE circumtropical; including Australia - Cooks - ?

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; Marine-Land, near-shore and oceanic, nest ashore

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Globally endangered (seriously)

KEY FEATURES: To 120cm curved CL. HEAD large, jaws stronly hooked; prefrontals 2-pairs (± subdivided). CARAPACE 5 midline plates; side or costal plates 5-9 pairs, ±symmetrically arranged; marginals 25-27. LIMBS with 2-3 claws, reduced to 1-0 by attrition. TAIL short, less than shell in female, longer in male.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) has smaller head; prefrontal shields 1-pair (vs. 2-pairs); costals 2-pairs (vs. 5+ pairs).

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
-						+

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
			-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758)
SYNONYMS: Testudo caretta [O]; Caretta gigas

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); TETRAPODA; REPTILIA; TESTUDINATA; Chelonia; CHELONIIDAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: Flesh considered inedible even after cooking (Palmerston, Hoyt, 12/2000).

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Palmerston: field-sight+photo, 100cm CL, in passage, Hoyt Peckham, 12/2000.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM03b, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
Please refer to our use policy.

Biodiversity Database: More Options | Help

My List: View List | Edit List | Clear List