The Smallest Nesting Green Turtle

Morphological studies in marine turtles can be used to developmental status, growth rate, nesting size, and classify as the adult or sub-adult of stranded turtles. The morphological variation of 365 green turtles nesting on Samandağ beach between 2006-2016 was investigated. Although not statistically significant, the curved carapace lenght (CCL) and width (CCW) showed tendency decreasing from 2006 to 2016. The minimum CCL of the green turtles was recorded as 72 cm, which is the smallest green turtle nesting based on published studies in different regions. Also, present study reject to Bergmann's rule, which is proposes that a positive relationship exists between mean body size and latitude. The theories about the reasons for the tendency to shrink and the disadvantages of being the smallest are explained in detail in the article.



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