A new record and molecular characterization of the Green Turtle Chelonia mydas (Testudines, Cheloniidae) in Sicilian coastal waters
Nuevo registro y caracterización molecular de la tortuga verde Chelonia mydas (Testudines, Cheloniidae) en las aguas costeras sicilianas
Author
Caracappa, Santo
Persichetti, Maria Flaminia
Piazza, Antonio
Gentile, Antonino
Marineo, Sandra
Currò, Vittoria
Fuintino, Antonio Iraci
Marrone, Federico
Arculeo, Marco
Abstract
A juvenile specimen of the Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, was recovered in Sicilian coastal waters close to Avola (Syracuse province, south-eastern Sicily, Italy). Before being released, the specimen was measured and inspected for the presence of ingested hooks or other possible harms to its health. A fragment of the mtDNA marker COI was amplified and sequenced in order to provide the first molecular data for the species from the central Mediterranean area. The possible influence of climate change on the occurrence of this thermophilic species in the central Mediterranean area is briefly discussed. A juvenile specimen of the Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, was recovered in Sicilian coastal waters close to Avola (Syracuse province, south-eastern Sicily, Italy). Before being released, the specimen was measured and inspected for the presence of ingested hooks or other possible harms to its health. A fragment of the mtDNA marker COI was amplified and sequenced in order to provide the first molecular data for the species from the central Mediterranean area. The possible influence of climate change on the occurrence of this thermophilic species in the central Mediterranean area is briefly discussed.