Flatback turtle

Flatback turtle (Natator depressus)

Flatback turtle (Natator depressus)

Description

One of just seven species of sea turtle, the flatback turtle is distinguished by its restricted distribution and its very flat carapace, or upper shell. The fleshy carapace, which is composed of thin, bony scales, has an upwards turned rim, particularly towards the rear. The carapace may be grey, pale grey-green or olive in colour. The head and soft flippers are also olive-grey, while the underside is pale yellow. Flatback turtle hatchlings are olive-green with scales edged in black.

Range

Having one of the most restricted ranges of any marine turtle, the flatback turtle is found only in the tropical waters of northern Australia, Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya, and nests only in Australia.

Habitat

The flatback turtle inhabits coastal waters over soft-bottomed sea beds. Like other marine turtles, its lays its eggs on sandy beaches, either on the Australian mainland or on offshore islands.

Status

Classified as Data Deficient (DD) on the IUCN Red List 2007 ⁽¹⁾, and listed on Appendix I of CITES ⁽⁴⁾ and Appendix II of CMS ⁽⁵⁾.

Threats

There is a large range of threats which may be affecting populations of the flatback turtle. Flatback turtle eggs and hatchlings are threatened by tourism and recreation disturbing nesting beaches, the effects of light pollution, and harvesting by indigenous people. They are also vulnerable to predation by feral pigs, particularly on the Cape York Peninsula. Adult flatback turtles are harvested for their meat, and face additional threats such as entanglement in lost or discarded fishing nets, ingestion of marine debris, being struck by boats, and being caught as by-catch. Flatback turtles comprise the majority of the turtleby-catch (59 per cent) in trawls in the Northern Prawn Fishery ⁽⁸⁾. However, as one of the most poorly understood marine turtle species, there is insufficient information to determine to what extent the flatback turtle may be affected by these threats, and thus it has been classified as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List ⁽¹⁾.