The Olive Ridley Turtle is the smallest of the Australian sea turtles with a mean curved carapace length of approximately 70 cm and weight of 40 kg. It is characterised by more than five pairs of costal scales. Adults are olive-grey in colour and whitish below. The hatchlings are blackish brown and measure 4.1 cm in straight carapace length.
Olive Ridley Turtle, Pacific Ridley Turtle |
Lepidochelys olivacea
Status: Endangered on the EPBC Act list
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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IUCN Red List Assessment, Lepidochelys olivacea
Global warming has the potential to impact the habitats and ecosystems of Olive Ridley populations worldwide (Hays et al. 2003; Weishampal 2004) but the specific impacts are purely speculative at this time.
Most accounts have focused on the impact of global warming on incubation temperatures of eggs; which influence the sex ratio of the embryos (Hays et al. 2003).