Black turtles are mainly found in the east of the Pacific Ocean around the Galapagos Islands. In Japan, they are found in the Ryukyu Islands including Okinawa. In 1999, Ocean Expo Park began rearing male and female black turtles in their Sea Turtle Pool. In June 2017, the black turtles mated successfully in captivity, a world’s first. Through this success, we were able to answers questions such as the size at which a female black turtle reaches sexual maturity, and the number of days required for egg formation. There is limited knowledge about the breeding ecology of the black turtle, and we expect to learn more through continued rearing and breeding.

Authors

Isao Kawazu, Ken Maeda, Shingo Fukada, Mariko Omata, Takahiro Kobuchi, and Masae Makabe (Names in bold: Churashima Foundation staff)

Title

Breeding success of captive black turtles in an aquarium

Journal

Current Herpetology

DOI

http://www.bioone.org/doi/10.5358/hsj.37.180