Flatback Sea Turtles

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Flatbacks (Natator depressus), medium sized marine turtles, get their names from their flat shells.

One of two marine turtles with a limited range, they nest exclusively along Eastern, Northern and Western Australian coastal areas, with a foraging range extending north to the oceans around Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.

The Australian Government lists them as vulnerable, with the eastern population the most stable, the western population the least stable and the northern population large, but in decline.

Flatback population dynamics are influenced by a variety of factors. Like other marine turtles, predatory behavior by local wild dogs, foxes and pigs depresses hatchling populations.

Commercial fishing practices, including the existence of abandoned nets which trap flatbacks in their foraging areas also creates population stresses.

© 2007-2010. Patricia A. Michaels