This morning an update was sent that a green turtle nest was located at
Padre Island National Seashore today. This was based on the report from
the turtle patroller, who found the wide tracks and a few eggs at the
surface (so we knew that we had a nest).
Upon further investigation, the identification has been changed from green turtle to leatherback turtle. Padre Island National Seashore Biologist Cynthia Rubio, who has seen leatherback nests in Mexico, confirmed that it is a leatherback nest. The tracks measured 203 cm wide and the egg diameter was 5.7 cm, both much larger than recorded for green turtles.
This is the first Leatherback nest recorded on the Texas coast since the 1930's. The only other leatherback nests that have been recorded on the Texas coast were from the 1920's and 1930's at what was later designated as Padre Island National Seashore.
The historic Leatherback nests were from the Little and Big Shell area of the National Seashore and this nest was located in that vicinity.
