A study on the Gut contents of live Juvenile Loggerhead Turtles, Caretta Caretta (Linnaeus) (Reptilia, Cheloniidae), from the South-Eastern part of the North Atlantic Ocean, with emphasis on Coelenterate Identification

• Main Authors: Nierop, M.M. van, Hartog, J.C. den
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: 1984
• Subjects: Cheloniidae; Caretta caretta; food; nematocysts; Siphonophora; Hydromedusae; Scyphozoa; Crustacea; Mollusca; Tunicata; south-eastern North Atlantic; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://repository.naturalis.nl/pub/319311

The gut contents of five juvenile individuals of the loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta (L.) from waters around Madeira, Selvagem Grande (Selvagens Islands) and S\xc3\xa3o Miguel (Azores) were analysed macro- and microscopically.\nMacroscopic investigations showed that epipelagic salps (e.g., Pyrosoma atlanticum P\xc3\xa9ron) and gastropods (e.g., Ianthina spp. and Pterotrachea spp.) constituted an important part of the food remains present in these loggerheads. To a lesser extent this also holds for organisms such as goose-barnacles (Lepas spp.). and Idotea metallica Bosc, which live on drifting materials, including algae.\nMicroscopic examination revealed the presence in all turtles of large numbers of nematocysts, deriving mainly from Siphonophora and to a lesser extent from Scyphomedusae and Hydromedusae, indicating that pelagic coelenterates also formed an important, if not the most important part of the food consumed.