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- Sea turtle (Reptilia, Testudines) diversity and occurrence in the Azores Archipelago (NE Atlantic)Publication . Barcelos, Luis M. D.; Vandeperre, Frederic; Parra, Hugo; Barreiros, João P.BACKGROUND: Six species of marine turtles occur in the Azores Archipelago. The loggerhead, Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758), is by far the most common species and is being constantly monitored and tagged by a joint project between the University of the Azores and the University of Florida since 1989. With the implementation of the tuna fishery observers (for dolphin safe seals), an increment of sea turtle reports has been verified as expected. The leather back turtle, Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761) is the second most observed species in the Azores' EEZ, a fact probably also linked to the tuna fishery observation programme. All other species are occasional/vagrant albeit the green turtle, Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758) is more commonly seen than the others. Historically, sea turtles were occasionally taken for food in specific fishing villages and ports. Since 1986, sea turtles, as well as all marine mammals, are fully protected in the Azores although human-related activities (e.g. plastics, discarded fishing gear) do generate serious injuries and deaths. NEW INFORMATION: In this paper, we update sea turtle species' checklist for the Azores and give detailed geographic coordinates on their known occurrences.
- First record of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829), in the Azores Islands, northeastern Atlantic Ocean (Testudines, Cheloniidae)Publication . Barcelos, Luis M. D.; Michielsen, Gerbrand; Sérgio, Bruno; Oliveira, Suzi; Barreiros, João P.While on their way northwestwards to D. João de Castro Bank in the Portuguese Azores Islands for diving and birdwatching on 9 October 2020, occupants of a rib boat from the Best Spot Azores Dive Center (São Miguel Island, Azores), spotted a sea turtle with a bird on top of its carapace, at a position halfway between Ponta dos Mosteiros on São Miguel Island and the bank (37.9676°N, 26.1671°W; Fig. 1). The bird was identified as a Common Tern (Sterna hirundo Linnaeus, 1758) and photos were taken. […].
- A healed propeller wound on a wild loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta (Testudines, Cheloniidae), occupied by a pelagic crab, Planes minutus, in the Azores Islands, PortugalPublication . Anjos, Marcelo R.; Pelegrini, Larissa S.; Barreiros, João B. V.; Barcelos, Luis M. D.; Barreiros, João P.This paper details and discusses a helix-induced injury to the right anterior shell of a seemingly healthy subadult loggerhead turtle. On 10 September 2018, two of the authors (JBB and JPB) located a loggerhead sea turtle resting on the rocky reef bottom at a depth of about 10 m while freediving off the southeastern coast of Terceira Island, Azores [...]
- Azores Sea turtles updated checklistPublication . Barcelos, Luis M. D.; Barreiros, João B. V.; Barreiros, João P.Sea turtles are the best-known and more widespread marine reptiles. However, information on their distribution and the occurrence of most species, except for nesting beaches, remains scarce and sporadic, depending on sightings from fishing vessels, tourist activities and occurrences in coastal areas as well as fishing bycatch. Since the last updated species’ list for the Azores (Santos et al, 2010), no new species’ record was known for Azorean waters, until October 2020, with the confirmed sighting of an Olive Ridley, Lepidochelys olivacea (Eschscholtz, 1829) (Barcelos et al. 2021). After that, in February 2021, a second individual was found stranded on Pico Island, already in an advanced state of decomposition. This increased the number of species present in Azores EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) to six out of the seven extant worldwide. The remaining one, Natator depressus (Garman, 1880), is native to the Indo-pacific (see Red List Standards & Petitions Subcommittee, 1996).