Turtles of Montserrat

 

Montserrat Post issued a set of stamps feature marine turtles on August 8, 2007. The issue stamps depict 5 species of marine turtles,e.g:  Hawksbill turtle, Green turtle, Leatherback turtle, Loggerhead turtle, and Kemps Ridley turtle. 

The present of stamp in a sheetlet comprised of four stamps and one souvenir sheet comprised of one stamp.

Kemp's ridley is a small living sea turtle species, reaching maturity at 60–90 centimetres long and averaging only 45 kilograms . Its colour is olive green above and yellowish below.

Kemp's ridley sea turtles generally prefer warm waters. Their range includes the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.The Kemp's ridley turtle feeds on molluscs, crustaceans, jellyfish, algae or seaweed, and sea urchins.

The hawksbill's appearance is similar to that of other marine turtles. It has a generally flattened body shape, a protective carapace, and flipper-like arms, adapted for swimming in the open ocean.  

This is a relatively small species of sea turtles. It is identified by its thick, overlapping shell scutes and its four pairs of lateral scutes.

 

The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae.  The species has a worldwide distribution, with Atlantic and Pacific subspecies.

Turtles of Pacific Ocean

Micronesia Post issued the stamp set features Turtles of Pacific Ocean in many type of issuance, one souvenir sheet, 4  postage stamps, and one miniature sheet consist of 4 postage stamps. The species of turtle depicted are Green Sea Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, Loggerhead Turtle, Australian Flatback Turtle, Kemp’s Ridley Turtle, Olive Ridley turtle, Leatherback Turtle.

Green Sea Turtle – $ 1.56

The Green Sea Turtle or Chelonia mydas is a sea turtle, possessing a dorsoventrally flattened body covered by a large, teardrop-shaped carapace and a pair of large, paddle-like flippers. It is usually lightly colored, although parts of the carapace can be almost black in the eastern Pacific.  Chelonia mydas is mostly herbivorous. The adults commonly inhabit shallow lagoons, feeding mostly on various species of sea grasses.

The life circle of Hawksbill Turtle on stamps.

The Green Turtle and Hawksbill Turtle species are relatively common in Fiji, whereas the Loggerhead and the Leatherback are quite rare.

The Hawksbill turtle is one of the smaller species and has a distinctive and very beautiful shell made up of overlapping plates. It is most easily recognised by the notched edges or 'spurs' to the 22 edge plates of its shell. The adult turtle is about 90cm long. Hawksbill turtles feed on sponges and soft corals, which are found on the reef. Hawksbill turtles live near the shore and the females come ashore on many small islands in the Fiji group between November and February to lay eggs.

The following stamps have issued by Fiji Post on 1997, depicted a stage in the turtle's life cycle that very little is known about on 4 stamps and one souvenir sheets. The issues are very helpful to human for learning the Hawksbill life.

63 cents - Female Hawksbill

The stamp has depicted a female Hawksbill turtle, laying her eggs after having struggled up the beach to dig out her nest by using the front flippers and back flippers to form a vertical tunnel, the egg chamber. Turtles lay eggs every 2-3 years.The number of eggs laid, is generally between 100-200.

81 cents - Group of baby hawksbill This stamp depicted a group of Baby Hawksbill turtles emerging from the nest, and scrambling towards the sea. It is hard to tell the sex of a small turtle just by looking at it. An adult male can be identified by its long tail and long claws on the front of the flippers.

$1.06 - Hawksbill at adolescence

After leaving the nest and entering the ocean, turtles are seldom seen until their carapace is 35-40cm long when they move to live and feed in shallow waters.Those hatchlings, which survive to cross the reef, swim until they reach deep water where ocean currents help the turtles drift for the first few years.

$2 - The adult Hawksbill

The stamp depicted the results of many years of seclusion and a life fraught with danger.After mating, the males return to the feeding grounds, while the females stay near the nesting beaches, where a month later she clambers out of the sea and up to the beach to lay her eggs.

Sea Turtles of Barbados

Barbados have issued the stamp featured the Turtles which comprised of 4 pieces stamps with different value each. The depicted turtle species are Green Turtle, Loggerhead Turtle, Hawksbill Turtle, and Leathered Turtle.

10c Chelonia mydas, Green Sea Turtle.

Green Sea turtles are long-lived and require 25-35 years to reach sexual maturity in the Caribbean. Individuals of varying sizes between small juveniles and sub-adults are present in the waters surrounding Barbados throughout the year. Green turtles are herbivorous and in the Caribbean they feed primarily on the sea grass Thalassia testudinum. Adults attain weights of 230 kg and generally measure 95-120 cm straight-line carapace length (nuchal notch to posterior tip).Green turtles nest uncommonly in Barbados and adults are rarely seen. In contrast, juveniles are relatively common in coastal waters, especially on the east coast and more recently at “Swim with the Turtles” feeding sites on the west coast.

50c Caretta caretta, Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Loggerhead turtle is recognized by its large head, thick, somewhat tapered carapace , brown and gold or reddish- brown colouration, and characteristically heavy encrustation of invertebrate epifauna (especially barnacles). They have large head and strong jaws that are necessary adaptations to a diet of mollusks and hardshelled crabs; tunicates, fishes, and plants are also eaten.Loggerheads are not known to nest in Barbados, but juveniles and sub-adults were in the past occasionally caught opportunistically by pelagic fishermen.. The species is considerably rarer around Barbados than either the green turtle, the hawksbill turtle or the leatherback turtle.

$1.00 Eretmochelys imbricata, Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Hawksbill Sea Turtle is distinguished by a narrow, pointed beak with which it pries sponges and other soft-bodied organisms from the reef. The carapace is often posteriorly serrated and carapace scutes overlap, like shingles on a roof. They have bright mottled colouration (brown, orange, gold) .Adults rarely exceed 80 kg and a carapace length of about 90 cm .Hawksbills are "spongivores" feeding on reef-associated sponges in the Caribbean region.The numbers of hawksbills in the Caribbean were greatly reduced by over-exploitation for their shell (tortoiseshell) in the latter half of the last century. Numbers have recovered slowly since international trade in shell ceased. However, their habit of nesting on the highly developed west and south coast beaches of Barbados has meant that hawksbills are now threatened by coastal development and beach erosion.

$2.50 Dermochelys coriacea, Leatherback Sea Turtle

Leatherbacks Sea Turtle are the largest of all the sea turtles (nesting females often weigh 300-500 kg) and widely spread in any country but occurs in Barbados only during the egg-laying season. Leatherbacks are easily distinguished because they lack a bony shell. The smooth, black skin is spotted with white. The carapace is strongly tapered, measures 130-165 cm in length , and is raised into seven prominent ridges. Powerful front flippers extend nearly the length of the body. Adults are excellent divers, having been recorded at depths exceeding 1000 meters in Caribbean waters. Leatherbacks feed predominantly on jellyfish and other soft-bodied prey.