Last Saturday (2/5) a large sea turtle body was found in the water near Sai Kung Pier. City University Marine Animal Imaging Anatomy Research Group were asked to identify the body and speculate on how it got into Hong Kong waters and why it died. They released their finding on Thursday 7 May. They identified it as a leatherback turtle.
The leatherback turtle is very rare in Hong Kong and is largest among the seven existing species of turtles, and can grow up to three metres in adulthood.
The CityU Group performed an image scan of the turtle corpse as well as a traditional autopsy to further understand its species. An adult turtle has a carapace arcuate length of more than 130 cm with a length around 97 cm. The arcuate length of the turtle under investigation was only 88 cm, so it was assumed to be an immature juvenile.
The CityU research team said that unlike other turtles, the leatherback has a hard carapace. The shell is composed of a layer of a leathery skin, which is relatively soft and has seven obvious ridges. It also has thousands of small bone plates that can make the carapace is stronger, allowing it to move in waters up to 1000 metres deep, adapting to the pressure caused by diving into the deep ocean.
At the moment there is no indication of why it was in Hong Kong waters or how it died.
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