Flatback turtle - Natator depressa

Scientific Name	Natator depressa
Author	(Garman, 1880)
Taxonomic Rank	Species
Taxonomic #	551902
Common Names	English: flatback turtle
Taxonomic Parents	Kingdom: Animalia   Phylum: Chordata     Subphylum: Vertebrata       Class: Reptilia         Order: Testudines           Family: Cheloniidae             Genus: Natator
Taxonomic Children
Synonyms (since 1950)

Taxonomic data is courtesy of the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS)

Flatback turtles measure approximately 90 cm as adults, and can be distinguished by their flattened carapace. They are olive grey and have four costal scutes with thick, overlapping carapace scales. Females are larger than males and have a shorter tail.

Flatbacks can be distinguished by their flattened shells.

Range:Tropical

Flatback turtles are tropical, found only in the coastal waters surrounding Australia. Their range extends from northern Western Australia to Mon Repos, Queensland. They are rarely found in the open sea.

Habit:Coastal

Nesting peaks in November and December, with mating occurring in the waters surrounding nesting beaches. The flatback may be the only sea turtle that does not have an early pelagic stage; hatchlings probably stay within tens or hundreds of kilometers of natal beaches, where they inhabit protected coastal areas.

Diet dominated by: Invertebrates

Flatback turtles are carnivorous, feeding in shallow, turbid inshore waters between five and twenty meters in depth. Their diet is poorly documented, but is known to include sea cucumbers, prawns, jellyfish, sea pens, soft corals, mollusks, bryozoans, and other invertebrates. The diet of hatchlings remains unknown.

Feeding mode: Seizing

Prey species include:

Adults: Janthina sp., Porpina sp.

Main threats:

Harvest of eggs

Fisheries bycatch

Conservation status:

The flatback turtle is listed as “data deficient” by the IUCN, that is, there is not enough information regarding the species to categorize its conservation status. The Australian government considers the species “vulnerable”, and has protected it with the exception of aboriginal harvest. The limited range of the flatback makes it vulnerable to catastrophic events. The flesh of the flatback is not palatable, but the eggs are collected as food. This species’ nesting beaches are very isolated, affording the flatback some protection.

For current information on the conservation status of this species, please consult the following websites.

IUCN Species Redlist

CITES

To sounds catalog, to museum specimen catalogs, to other important pages.

Genetics Genbank

Museum Collections Smithsonian Institution

Australian Department of Environment

Ernst, C.H. and R.W. Barbour. 1989. Turtles of the World. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.

Lutz, P.L, and J.A. Musick (Eds). 1997. The Biology of Sea Turtles. CRC Press LLC, New York, NY.