Padre Island National Seashore   Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle🐢

Photo: Johntex · Public domain

SpeciesCheloniidae
Reptiles

🐢Kemp's ridley sea turtle

Lepidochelys kempii Garman, 1880

Kemp's ridley sea turtle, also called commonly the Atlantic ridley sea turtle, Kemp's ridley turtle, and Kemp's ridley, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. L. kempii is the rarest species of sea turtle and is the world's most endangered species of sea turtle as well as the smallest. It is one of two living species in the genus Lepidochelys. L. kempii primarily occupies habitat around the Gulf of Mexico, though its migrations into the Atlantic Ocean are being affected by rising temperatures. Rising sea temperatures expand this species range, leaving them vulnerable to cold-shocking events when weather changes. Kemp's ridley sea turtle is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and conservation efforts are attempting to rebuild population numbers. Human activity, including habitat destruction, climate change, and oil spills, threatens populations.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Videos
None yet
Photos
1
Measurements
11
vs you
≈ half your weight
Also called
Lepidochelys kempii, Atlantic Ridley, Gulf Ridley, Kemp's Ridley, Kemp’s ridley turtle, kemps ridley, Mexican Ridley
Conservation status
CRCritically endangered

IUCN Red List assessment, 2019.

Population trendUnknown
Key measurements
Body mass
41 kg
Body length
not recorded
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
30 years
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Kemp's ridley sea turtle

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
41 kgrecord 92 kg · ReptTraits
AnAge
Other figures ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

By sex

  • Female48 kgSeaLifeBasev25.04SeaLifeBase populates Weight independently of Length; the two are not guaranteed to describe the same individual. Verify before publishing.
Maximum lifespan
30 yearsrecord 50 years · ReptTraits
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Record: largest individual on record

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Gestation
60 days
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Litter size
about 110
AnAge
Details ↓

data quality: acceptable

Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0

Diet
Omnivorous
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Activity cycle
Diurnal
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Foraging mode
ACT
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Venomous
No
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Carapace length
0.66 mtypical adult, carapace length
SeaLifeBase
Other figures ↓

Source: SeaLifeBase · v25.04 · CC BY-NC 4.0

By sex

  • Female0.66 mSeaLifeBasev25.04

Figures vary

  • 0.75 mSeaLifeBasev25.04
Snout–vent length
0.75 mmaximum recorded
ReptTraits
Details ↓

Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Volume l
41 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Kemp's ridley sea turtle yet: body length, shoulder height, top speed, bite force.

Where it sits

Family tree

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. ›phylumChordata
  3. ›classTestudines
  4. ›familyCheloniidae
  5. ›genusLepidochelys
  6. ›speciesLepidochelys kempii
Full lineage
  1. orderTurtles & tortoises · Testudines
  2. superfamilyChelonioidea
  3. familyCheloniidae
  4. genusLepidochelys
All 13 branches ↓
  1. kingdomMetazoa
  2. phylumChordata
  3. subphylumCraniata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. superclassGnathostomata
  6. superclassSarcopterygii
  7. superclassTetrapoda
  8. orderSauria
  9. orderTurtles & tortoises · Testudines
  10. suborderCryptodira
  11. superfamilyChelonioidea
  12. familyCheloniidae
  13. genusLepidochelys
More

More about the Kemp's ridley sea turtle

In other languages
Lepidochelys kempii (es), Lépidochelyde de Kemp (fr), Kemps zeeschildpad (nl), Tartaruga-de-kemp (pt), Żółw zatokowy (pl), Атлантическая ридлея (ru) … and 20 more languages
Videos

No videos of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle yet.

We have 44,653 videos so far, and none of them features this animal yet.

All videos →
Tools

Compare the Kemp's ridley sea turtle

Pick a tool — the Kemp's ridley sea turtle is already selected.