Pulu Keeling National Park Management Plan
Marine ReptilesMarine Reptiles
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Marine Reptiles
Gibson-Hill (1950a) recorded both the hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata, and the green turtle, Chelonia mydas, from the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. As early as 1909, Wood-Jones observed that breeding of green turtles had virtually ceased on the islands of the southern atoll, although extensive nesting could be observed on North Keeling Island. Gibson Hill (1950a) reported a similar situation in 1941. Nesting green turtles are occasionally observed on the southern atoll (Murray 2002, pers. comm.), but frequently on North Keeling Island. Although hawksbill turtles are seen and are likely to reside around the island, nesting has not been recorded (Tranter 1997, pers. comm.). Olive ridley turtles, Lepidochelys olivacea, have been seen in the Park, and loggerheads, Caretta caretta, and leatherbacks, Dermochelys coriacea, on the southern atoll (Murray 2002, pers. comm.). The only two species of sea snake recorded at the southern atoll is the yellow-bellied sea-snake, Pelamis platurus, and the banded sea krait, Laticauda colubrina.