Hawksbill sea turtle

The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a Critically Endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus Eretmochelys. The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Indo-Pacific subspeciesE. i. imbricata and E. i. bissa, respectively.[2]

Hawksbill sea turtle
Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) off the coast of Saba
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Testudines
Suborder: Cryptodira
Superfamily: Chelonioidea
Family: Cheloniidae
Subfamily: Cheloniinae
Genus: Eretmochelys
Fitzinger, 1843
E. imbricata
Binomial name
Eretmochelys imbricata

E. imbricata bissa (Rüppell, 1835)
E. imbricata imbricata (Linnaeus, 1766)

Range of the hawksbill sea turtle

The hawksbill's appearance is similar to that of other marine turtles. In general, it has a flattened body shape, a protective carapace, and flipper-like limbs, adapted for swimming in the open ocean. E. imbricata is easily distinguished from other sea turtles by its sharp, curving beak with prominent tomium, and the saw-like appearance of its shell margins. Hawksbill shells slightly change colors, depending on water temperature. While this turtle lives part of its life in the open ocean, it spends more time in shallow lagoons and coral reefs. The World Conservation Union, primarily as a result of Human fishing practices, classifies E. imbricata as critically endangered.[1] Hawksbill shells were the primary source of tortoiseshell material used for decorative purposes. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species outlaws the capture and trade of hawksbill sea turtles and products derived from them.[3]

Anatomy and morphology



One of the hawksbill's more easily distinguished characteristics is the pattern of thick scutes that make up its carapace. While its carapace has five central scutes and four pairs of lateral scutes like several members of its family, E. imbricata's posterior scutes overlap in such a way as to give the rear margin of its carapace a serrated look, similar to the edge of a saw or a steak knife. The turtle's carapace has been known to reach almost 1 m (3 ft) in length.[6] The hawksbill appears to frequently employ its sturdy shell to insert its body into tight spaces in reefs.[7]

Crawling with an alternating gait, hawksbill tracks left in the sand are asymmetrical. In contrast, the green sea turtle and the leatherback turtle have a more symmetrical gait.[8][9]

Due to its consumption of venomous cnidarians, hawksbill sea turtle flesh can become toxic.[10]

The hawksbill sea turtle has been shown to be biofluorescent and is the first reptile recorded with this characteristic. It is unknown if this is derived from the turtle's diet, which includes biofluorescent organisms like the hard coral Physogyra lichtensteini. Males have more intense pigmentation than females, and a behavioural role of these differences is speculated.[11][12]


Hawksbill sea turtles have a wide range, found predominantly in tropical reefs of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. Of all the sea turtle species, E. imbricata is the one most associated with warm tropical waters. Two major subpopulations are known, in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific.[13]

Atlantic subpopulation

In the Atlantic, hawksbill populations range as far west as the Gulf of Mexico and as far southeast as the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.[13][14][15] They live off the Brazilian coast (specifically Bahia, Fernando de Noronha) through southern Florida and the waters off Virginia.[4]

In the Caribbean, the main nesting beaches are in the Lesser Antilles, Barbados,[16] Guadeloupe,[17] Tortuguero in Costa Rica,[18] and in the Yucatan. They feed in the waters off Cuba[19] and around Mona Island near Puerto Rico[20] among other places.

Indo-Pacific subpopulation


The Philippines hosts several nesting sites, including the island of Boracay and Punta Dumalag in Davao City. Dahican Beach in Mati City, Davao Oriental hosts one of the most important hatcheries of its kind along with Olive Riley Turtles in the archipelagic country of the Philippines.[21] A small group of islands in the southwest of the archipelago has been named the "Turtle Islands" because two species of sea turtles nest there: the hawksbill and the green sea turtle.[22] In January 2016, a juvenile was seen in Gulf of Thailand.[23] A 2018 article by The Straits Times reported that around 120 hawksbill juvenile turtles recently hatched at Pulau Satumu, Singapore.[24] Commonly found in Singapore waters, hawksbill turtles have returned to areas such East Coast Park and Palau Satumu to nest.[25] In Hawaii, hawksbills mostly nest on the "main" islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Hawaii.[26] In Australia, hawksbills are known to nest on Milman Island in the Great Barrier Reef.[27] Hawksbill sea turtles nest as far west as Cousine Island in the Seychelles, where the species has been legally protected since 1994, and the population is showing some recovery.[28] The Seychelles' inner islands and islets, such as Aldabra, are popular feeding grounds for immature hawksbills.[9][29]

Eastern Pacific subpopulation

In the eastern Pacific, hawksbills are known to occur from the Baja Peninsula in Mexico south along the coast to southern Peru.[13] Nonetheless, as recently as 2007, the species had been considered largely extirpated in the region.[30] Important remnant nesting and foraging sites have since been discovered in Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Ecuador, providing new opportunities for research and conservation. In contrast to their traditional roles in other parts of the world, where hawksbills primarily inhabit coral reefs and rocky substrate areas, in the eastern Pacific, hawksbills tend to forage and nest principally in mangrove estuaries, such as those present in the Bahia de Jiquilisco (El Salvador), Gulf of Fonseca (Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras), Estero Padre Ramos (Nicaragua), and the Gulf of Guayaquil (Ecuador).[31] Multi-national initiatives, such as the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, are currently pushing efforts to research and conserve the population, which remains poorly understood.

Habitat and feeding


Adult hawksbill sea turtles are primarily found in tropical coral reefs. They are usually seen resting in caves and ledges in and around these reefs throughout the day. As a highly migratory species, they inhabit a wide range of habitats, from the open ocean to lagoons and even mangrove swamps in estuaries.[6][32] Little is known about the habitat preferences of early life-stage E. imbricata; like other young sea turtles, they are assumed to be completely pelagic, remaining at sea until they mature.[33]


While they are omnivorous, sea sponges are their principal food; they constitute 70–95% of the turtles' diets.[34] However, like many spongivores, they feed only on select species, ignoring many others. Caribbean populations feed primarily on the orders Astrophorida, Spirophorida, and Hadromerida in the class Demospongiae.[35] Aside from sponges, hawksbills feed on algae, cnidarians, comb jellies and other jellyfish, and sea anemones.[6] They also feed on the dangerous jellyfish-like hydrozoan, the Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis). Hawksbills close their unprotected eyes when they feed on these cnidarians. The man o' war's stinging cells cannot penetrate the turtles' armored heads.[4]


Life history

Not much is known about the life history of hawksbills.[36] Their life history can be divided into three phases, namely the pelagic phase, from hatching to about 20 cm, the benthic phase, when the immature turtles recruit to foraging areas, and the reproductive phase, when they reach sexual maturity.[37][38] The pelagic phase possibly lasts until the turtles reach around 20 cm in length in 1–3 years,[39] reaching sexual maturity at around 40 cm (2–4 years).[40] Hawksbills show a degree of fidelity after recruiting to the benthic phase,[41] however movement to other similar habitats is possible.[42]


Hawksbills mate biannually in secluded lagoons off their nesting beaches in remote islands throughout their range. The most significant nesting beaches are in Mexico, the Seychelles, Indonesia, and Australia. Mating season for Atlantic hawksbills usually spans April to November. Indian Ocean populations, such as the Seychelles hawksbill population, mate from September to February.[9] After mating, females drag their heavy bodies high onto the beach during the night. They clear an area of debris and dig a nesting hole using their rear flippers, then lay clutches of eggs and cover them with sand. Caribbean and Florida nests of E. imbricata normally contain around 140 eggs. After the hours-long process, the female returns to the sea.[6][14] Their nests can be found throughout beaches in about 60 countries.



Hawksbills evidently reach maturity after 20 years.[14] Their lifespan is unknown.[43] Like other sea turtles, hawksbills are solitary for most of their lives; they meet only to mate. They are highly migratory.[36] Because of their tough carapaces, adults' only predators are sharks, estuarine crocodiles, octopuses, and some species of pelagic fish.[36]

A series of biotic and abiotic cues, such as individual genetics, foraging quantity and quality,[44] or population density, may trigger the maturation of the reproductive organs and the production of gametes and thus determine sexual maturity. Like many reptiles, all marine turtles of a same aggregation are highly unlikely to reach sexual maturity at the same size and thus age.[45] Age at maturity has been estimated to occur between 10[46] and 25 years of age[47] for Caribbean hawksbills. Turtles nesting in the Indo-Pacific region may reach maturity at a minimum of 30 to 35 years.[48][49]

Evolutionary history


Etymology and taxonomic history

Linnaeus originally described the hawksbill sea turtle as Testudo imbricata in 1766, in the 12th edition of his Systema Naturae.[51] In 1843, Austrian zoologist Leopold Fitzinger moved it into genus Eretmochelys.[52] In 1857, the species was temporarily misdescribed as Eretmochelys imbricata squamata.[53]

Two subspecies are accepted in E. imbricata's taxon. E. i. bissa (Rüppell, 1835) refers to populations that reside in the Pacific Ocean.[54] The Atlantic population is a separate subspecies, E. i. imbricata (Linnaeus, 1766). The nominate subspecies is the Atlantic taxon, because Linnaeus' type specimen was from the Atlantic.[55]

Fitzinger derived the genus name, Eretmochelys, from the Greek roots eretmo and chelys, corresponding to "oar" and "turtle", respectively. The name refers to the turtles' oar-like front flippers. The species name imbricata is Latin, corresponding to the English term imbricate. This appropriately describes the turtles' overlapping posterior scutes. The Pacific hawksbill's subspecies name, bissa, is Latin for "double". The subspecies was originally described as Caretta bissa; the term referred to the then-species being the second species in the genus.[56] Caretta is the genus of the hawksbill's much larger relative, the loggerhead sea turtle.

Exploitation by humans

Throughout the world, hawksbill sea turtles are taken by humans, though it is illegal to hunt them in many countries.[57] In some parts of the world, hawksbill sea turtles are eaten as a delicacy. As far back as the fifth century BC, sea turtles, including the hawksbill, were eaten as delicacies in China.[58]

Many cultures also use turtle shells for decoration. These turtles have been harvested for their beautiful shell since Egyptian times, and the material known as tortoiseshell is normally from the hawksbill.[59] In China, where it was known as tai mei, the hawksbill is called the "tortoise-shell turtle", named primarily for its shell, which was used for making and decorating a variety of small items, as it was in the West.[58] Along the south coast of Java, stuffed hawksbill turtles are sold in souvenir shops, though numbers have decreased in the last two decades.[60] In Japan, the turtles are also harvested for their shell scutes, which are called bekko in Japanese. It is used in various personal implements, such as eyeglass frames and the shamisen (Japanese traditional three-stringed instrument) picks.[59] In 1994, Japan stopped importing hawksbill shells from other nations. Prior to this, the Japanese hawksbill shell trade was around 30,000 kg (66,000 lb) of raw shells per year.[19][61] In the West, hawksbill sea turtle shells were harvested by the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans for jewellery, such as combs, brushes, and rings.[62] The bulk of the world's hawksbill shell trade originates in the Caribbean. In 2006, processed shells were regularly available, often in large amounts, in countries including the Dominican Republic and Colombia.[63]



Consensus has determined sea turtles, including E. imbricata to be, at the very least, threatened species because of their slow growth and maturity, and slow reproductive rates. Many adult turtles have been killed by humans, both accidentally and deliberately. Their existence is threatened due to pollution and loss of nesting areas because of coastal development. Biologists estimate that the hawksbill population has declined 80 percent in the past 100–135 years.[1] Human and animal encroachment threatens nesting sites, and small mammals dig up the eggs to eat.[6] In the US Virgin Islands, mongooses raid hawksbill nests (along with those of other sea turtles, such as Dermochelys coriacea) right after they are laid.[64]

In 1982, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species first listed E. imbricata as Endangered.[65] This endangered status continued through several reassessments in 1986,[66] 1988,[67] 1990,[68] and 1994[69] until it was upgraded in status to Critically Endangered in 1996.[1] Two petitions challenged its status as an endangered species prior to this, claiming the turtle (along with three other species) had several significant stable populations worldwide. These petitions were rejected based on their analysis of data submitted by the Marine Turtle Specialist Group (MTSG). The data given by the MTSG showed the worldwide hawksbill sea turtle population had declined by 80% in the three most recent generations, and no significant population increase occurred as of 1996. CR A2 status was denied, however, because the IUCN did not find sufficient data to show the population likely to decrease by a further 80% in the future.[70]

The species (along with the entire family Cheloniidae) has been listed on Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.[3] It is prohibited to import or export turtle products, or to kill, capture, or harass hawksbill sea turtles.[57]


The United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service have classified hawksbills as endangered under the Endangered Species Act[71] since 1970. The US government established several recovery plans[72] for protecting E. imbricata.[73]


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