June 28, 2007
Honu or honu’ea?
My friend Pelf is a grad student. She works with turtles every day, and is involved in a project to help save and protect critically endangered river terrapin. She thinks the photo I published yesterday of a turtle in Waianae Boat Harbor might be a Hawksbill instead of a Green Sea Turtle. She knows a lot more about turtles than I do, so I’m publishing another photo taken the same day that may help her clarify the issue. I assumed it was a Green Sea Turtle because they are very common in the shallow waters of my coast. I’ve gotten in trouble in the past for assuming, so it’s very possible I was wrong this time, too.
Green Sea Turtles - honu - are quite abundant on the Waianae Coast. It’s hard to go to the beach, and even harder to spend time in the water, without seeing them. Their numbers have increased greatly since they came under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, and they are currently listed as “threatened.” The honu themselves make it hard to follow the rules and not get within ten feet of them. They’re curious and playful and have become acclimated to humans in their environment, especially in popular diving and snorkeling sites. There’s an old, friendly guy at my favorite dive site who is affectionately known as “Old Tripod” (missing one flipper.) He likes to hover just above divers’ heads and “eat” the bubbles that ascend from their regulators. FYI, for anyone who swims or dives here, or for anyone planning a trip, let the turtles control the situation. Never place yourself over them. They need to surface regularly to breath. Do not approach, feed, harrass, chase or attempt to touch them. If you see fising line or nets in the water and can remove them, do so. If you see abandoned nets and can’t remove them yourself, report them so that someone else can. Turtles and other sea creatures drown or become maimed from entanglement in nets. It appears that the fellow pictured above is missing a flipper, though it could be tucked out of the way and hidden from the angle I was able to photograph. Fishing debris is one cause of missing flippers (sharks are another.) EDIT: I just looked at the picture of this same turtle from my previous post, in original size. His other flipper is visible. Did you notice the white line near the front of his carapace? Damage? You can see it in both pictures. In the picture I’ve just added below it looks like it’s just a clearer margin between scutes. No so much algae obscuring it.
Hawksbill turtles - honu’ea - also occur in the waters around Oahu, but in much lower numbers. They are listed as endangered. Nesting occurs on the Big Island of Hawaii, with less than thirty nesting turtles identified. It is possible that a Hawksbill lives in the waters of Waianae Harbor, especially if it’s missing a flipper and is protecting itself from larger sea creatures by staying out of the open ocean. The bottom of the harbor is quite mucky, and I can’t imagine sponges living there for a Hawksbill to feed on, but I’m not an expert in turtles or sponges, so I’m merely speculating. I watched the fellow above nibbling on the bottom, but could not see through the murk to tell what he was eating. I do know that there is seaweed in the harbor that honu could eat. Hawsbill’s have a serrated edge along the rear curve of their carapace, while with Green Sea Turtles you can see a bit of a scalloped edge sometimes. The photo above clearly shows serrations near the tail, but they are not as numerous or clearly defined as I’ve seen in photos on other sites. There are also scallops along the rear edges in my photo.
So there you have it. Is my guy a honu or honu’ea? Either way, it’s a joy and privilege to have such magnificent creatures as neighbors. You can help support their protection and recovery by educating yourself before you enter their environment. More tangible support can be provided through donations to any of the numerous conservation efforts listed at turtles.org. WE are the turtles’ greatest enemy. Our past hunting habits and our carelessness with their environment are the primary causes of turtle population declines around the world. The least we can do is to help bring them back, now that we know better.
Edit: I found this identification key, which, coupled with the larger view of the turtle’s head in the photo below, seems to solve our mystery! On the keys, look at the picture on the right, then click on the link below to go to the next page.
[tags]Green Sea Turtle, Hawaii, Hawksbill Turtle, honu, honu’ea, photo, turtles, turtles.org[/tags]
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June 28th, 2007 at 12:28 pm, Flo Says:
Well, I’m not expert but when working on the fishing boats I learned that the definitive way to tell is to count the scutes on their head. I can’t get a good count from this picture. I sure hope Pelf can tell, I’d love to know.
June 28th, 2007 at 12:34 pm, skeet Says:
I’ve sent Pelf a message about this post, Flo, and will let you know if she’s able to provide a definitive answer. My curiosity has been aroused, too.
June 28th, 2007 at 1:36 pm, skeet Says:
Flo, I think our turtle mystery is solved, but you’re more experienced than me. Come back and take a look!
June 28th, 2007 at 3:23 pm, pelf Says:
Yeah, it’s a green turtle — it’s good that you’ve got a picture that shows the prefrontal lobes so clearly
We often receive requests from the public who wanted us to help identify a turtle they’ve just seen but they failed to take pictures that lead to the identification of the species! 
BTW, I found another identification key
And, skeet, I’m sure you’re familiar with the Turtle Independence Day, aren’t you?
June 28th, 2007 at 4:02 pm, skeet Says:
Pelf, I’m not familiar with Turtle Independence Day, but I’m eager to learn! Does it have to do with releases of hatchlings?
By the way, I’m frequently asked to identify insects based on lame evidence. I’ve even had people mail them to me in an envelope. They get squished by the postal machines and I’m supposed to identify a smear, lol!
June 28th, 2007 at 4:20 pm, Whim Says:
Very interesting Skeet.
June 28th, 2007 at 7:09 pm, Flo Says:
I thought it was a green but it’s been a few years since I was id-ing turtles so I was not confident in my abilities
Turtle independence day is cool. The turtles that were hatched at Sea Life Park and sent to places to live for a while are set free on the Big Island (I think) on July 4th. Be sure to watch the news that night, I’m sure they will cover it.
June 29th, 2007 at 4:22 pm, pelf Says:
Flo is right about TID though I’ve never attended one in Hawaii. This year Mauna Lani will host the 18th TID, is it very far from where you live, skeet?
June 30th, 2007 at 8:50 am, Jackie Says:
Gorgeous!!!