J.A. Keinath & J.A. Musick W.M. Swingle

VA Instit. of Marine Science VA Marine Sci. Museum

College of William and Mary 717 General Booth Blvd.

Gloucester Pt., VA 23062 VA Beach, VA 23451

Chesapeake Bay is an important foraging area for juvenile loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii). It is estimated that up to 10,000 loggerheads (Byles, 1988; Keinath et al., 1987) and hundreds of ridleys (Musick, 1988) inhabit the bay during warm months. A smaller number of leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) may be observed in Virginia waters each year (Keinath et al., 1987). We now describe the first verified occurrence of the hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) from Virginia waters.

Adult hawksbill turtles are tropical, and do not travel into temperate waters (Pritchard, 1979). Young hawksbills, however, have been observed beyond the adult range, from southern Brazil to New England in the western Atlantic (Carr, 1952). Hawksbills found outside the tropics are considered lost waifs. It has been reported that a "small number" of hawksbills were taken in the turtle fisheries near Beaufort and Morehead City, North Carolina (True, 1887), but their identification is uncertain. Schwartz (1976) reported four hawksbills captured in the same areas between 1970 and 1975. There are no verified accounts of the hawksbill turtle in the Virginian Sea or Chesapeake Bay (Musick, 1988). Woodard (1980) listed hawksbills from Accomack and Northampton (Virginia) counties but gave no references to the source of the information, and these records are doubtful. Schwartz (1967) suggested that hawksbills may occur in Maryland waters but provided no records. Musick (1972, 1988) described a hawksbill carapace in the collection of the Natural History Society of Maryland, simply labeled "Chesapeake Bay," with no information as to the exact collection location, date, or collector. Thus, the validity of the collection location can not be verified (Keinath and Musick, in press).

On 9 November 1990, a commercial clammer captured a small sea turtle in patent tongs at the mouth of the James River (ca 36^{o 59' N x 76o 16' W). The bay water temperature was 17°C. The fisherman transported the turtle to the Virginia Marine Science Museum (VMSM), where the turtle was identified as a hawksbill. The fisherman had removed many barnacles from the turtle, otherwise the animal appeared to be in good physical health, and the turtle was kept at the VMSM overnight. Shrimp, squid, scallops, and fish were offered for food but rejected. Fecal samples revealed sand and a fish scale.}

On 10 November 1990 the turtle was transported to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) for measurements (Table 1) and longer term observation. Since carapace lengths of mature hawksbills are over 90 cm and weights are over 125 kg (Pritchard, 1979; Witzell, 1983), it is obvious that this specimen was a young juvenile. Examination by a trained veterinarian and results of blood profiles confirmed the turtle was in good health. Samples of remaining barnacles revealed three species commonly observed on Chesapeake Bay loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta; Dodd, 1988, Lutcavabe and Musick, 1985, JAK, pers. obs.): Chelonibia testudinaria, Chelonibia caretta, and possibly Balanus venustus. The turtle was successfully fed squid on 11 November 1990. Fecal samples obtained on 12 November 1990 consisted of sponge and substrate material, along with a couple of fish vertebrae. Subsequently, the turtle was successfully fed squid and local sponges daily.

On 23 November 1990 the turtle was transferred to the VMSM, where the turtle was fed squid, scallops, and local sponges. As of 25 February 1991 the turtle had gained 1.5 kg. The turtle was transferred to The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on 26 February. University of Florida tags (X887 [R] and X888 [L]) were applied and the turtle was released in suitable habitat off Fort Lauderdale, Florida on 1 March 1991.

Hawksbills have been described as omnivorous (Carr, 1952; Ernst and Barbour, 1972). However, recent evidence suggests that they specialize on sponges (Meylan, 1988). The fecal samples we collected on 12 November 1990 indicate that this hawksbill had been feeding exclusively on sponges. Hawksbills typically inhabit coral reefs and rocky places (Ernst and Barbour, 1972; Pritchard, 1979; Witzell, 1983) and although Chesapeake Bay has no coral reefs, the sponges found in the fecal sample typically grow in hard substrates, such as oyster reefs and man-made structures. Hawksbill turtles found in Virginia's waters are extra-limital (Musick, 1988) and should be considered lost waifs.

Acknowledgments

D. Barnard and B. Sauls (VIMS) cared for the turtle while in captivity at VIMS, procured sponges for food and coaxed the animal into initial feeding. W. Teas (NMFS), the Georgia Marine Extension Center Aquarium, and R. and J. Wershovern (Audubon Society of the Everglades) were instrumental in release of the turtle.

This is VIMS Contribution No. 1688.

Literature Cited

Byles, R.A. 1988. Behavior and ecology of sea turtles from Chesapeake

Bay, Virginia. Ph.D. Dissertation Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, Gloucester Pt., VA 112 pp.

Carr, A. 1952. Handbook of Turtles. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, NY

542 pp.

Dodd, C.K., Jr. 1988. Synopsis of the biological data on the loggerhead

sea turtle Caretta caretta (Linnaeus 1758). US Fish and Wildlife Service Biol. Report. 88(14). Washington, DC 110 pp.

Ernst, C.H. and R.W. Barbour. 1972. Turtles of the United States.

University Press, Lexington, KY 347 pp.

Keinath, J.A., J.A. Musick, and R.A. Byles. 1987. Aspects of the biology of

Virginia's sea turtles: 1979-1986. Virginia Journal of Science. 38:329-336.

Keinath, J.A. and J.A. Musick. In press. Atlantic hawksbill turtle,

Eretmochelys imbricata imbricata (Linnaeus). In: K. Terwilliger (Compiler), Virginia's Endangered Species. McDonald and Woodward Pub. Co. Blacksburg, VA.

Lutcavage M.E. and J.A. Musick. 1985. Aspects of the biology of sea

turtles in Virginia. Copeia 1985:449-456.

Meylan, A. 1988. Spongivory in hawksbill turtles: A diet of glass, Science

239:393-395.

Musick, J.A. 1972. Herptiles of the Maryland and Virginia coastal plain,

p. 213-239. In: M.L. Wass (Compiler), A check list of the biota of lower Chesapeake Bay. VIMS Special Science Report No. 65. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Pt., VA.

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Table 1. Measurements of hawksbill turtle captured in Chesapeake Bay.

Weight at Capture was 3.8 kg. (NA = not applicable)

MEASUREMENT STRAIGHT CURVED

(cm) (cm)

Carapace mid-line length 28.8 31.9

(notch to notch)

Carapace longest length 31.0 33.2

(tip to tip)

Carapace width 23.8 29.1

(widest point)

Plastron width 15.2 NA

(widest point)

Plastron width with bridge 20.1 NA

(widest point)

Plastron length 24.2 NA

(longest, mid-line)