The Flatback Sea Turtle

The Flatback sea turtle is somewhat of a mystery for those who study marine biology and oceanic life. The numbers and information surrounding its life are minimal at best due to the turtle’s location in the continental shelf of Australia, which can be physically attributed to the coastal regions of the nation. Flatback turtles are also known to populate the central Indo-Pacific region, which can characteristically be defined as the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the central and western Pacific Ocean, and the water borne regions that connect the two general landmasses of Indonesia.

The Flatback sea turtle has many affectionate names. It is known as “barwanjan” to the indigenous people of the Bardi tribe and is known as “madumal” to the Wunbamil tribe. However, it is scientifically known as “Natator depressus”. The name originates in Latin where Natator means “swimmer” and depressus means “flat”, which is mostly in reference to the turtle’s flat shell that gives it the ability to swim at speeds of up to 24 kilometers per hour or approximately 15 miles per hour. However, despite these quick underwater speeds, they are slow to move on land and are defenseless against predators above water. This makes their study particularly difficult as male Flatback turtles tend to reside within bodies of water for the duration of their lifetimes whereas females only leave water to lay eggs and create nests, but this is mostly done at night as a form of self protection and preservation.

With evolving technology comes the ability to study such a marvelous and mysterious creature. While there are presently very few figures and data to ascribe to the Flatback sea turtle, scientists have recently started to attach radio transmitters to nesting sea turtles and these devices transmit valuable information back to the scientists in aims of giving us the very much needed data surrounding the life of the sea turtle. It is only now that we can begin to piece together the life history of the sea turtle and follow it throughout its lifestyle and developing trends that it has been known to exhibit under case studies.