Molluscan and crustacean items in the diet of the loggerhead turtle, Caretta caretta (Linnaeus, 1758) [Testudines: Chelonidae] in the eastern Mediterranean

• Published in: Journal of molluscan studies 1997-08, Vol.63 (3), p.474-476
• Main Authors: Godley, B.J., Smith, S.M., Clark, P.F., Taylor, J.D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Caretta caretta; Marine
• ISSN: 0260-1230; 1464-3766
• DOI: 10.1093/mollus/63.3.474

The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) has a circumglobal distribution in temperate and subtropical areas including the whole of the Mediterranean. However, little dietary information is available for those individuals foraging in this region. For both post-pelagic juveniles and adults of this species, study of prey items in other regions of the world have found the diet to be dominated by benthic molluscs, crustaceans and coelenterates. Loggerhead turtles off Australia have recently been observed mining' such prey items in soft sediments. Individuals sold in markets in Sfax, Tunisia in 1989, were observed to have previously ingested benthic molluscs and crustacea. Identification of gut contents from 31 individuals of varying sizes, caught by trawlers in Tunisian waters, showed the diet to consist largely of these two groups, but also of echinoderms and other items in relatively small proportions. These data suggest that certainly in this region, the loggerhead is a fairly non-selective predator upon sessile and slow moving prey.