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Mesoamerican Barrier Reef
The Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System (MBRS), also popularly known as the Great Mayan Reef or Great Maya Reef, is a marine region that stretches over along the coasts of four countries – Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras – from Isla Contoy at the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula south to Belize, Guatemala and the Bay Islands of Honduras. The reef system includes various protected areas and parks including the Belize Barrier Reef, Arrecifes de Cozumel National Park, Hol Chan Marine Reserve (Belize), Sian Ka'an biosphere reserve, and the Cayos Cochinos Marine Park. Belize's coastline, including the Belize Barrier Reef, is home to approximately 30% of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. It begins near Isla Contoy on the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula and continues south alongside the Riviera Maya including areas like Cozumel and Banco Chinchorro. It then continues south along the eastern coast of Belize including many cayes and atolls. It extends to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banco Chinchorro
Banco Chinchorro is an atoll reef lying off the southeast coast of the Municipality of Othón P. Blanco in Quintana Roo, Mexico, near Belize. It was featured throughout the 2009 semi-documentary film '' Alamar'' by Pedro González-Rubio. Geography The reef lies in Mexican waters offshore in the Caribbean Sea, or about east of the city of Chetumal. It is approximately long from north to south, and approximately wide at its widest point. It covers an area of . The atoll has three islands, with an aggregate land area of : #Cayo Norte (actually two separate islets) (0.9 km²) #Cayo Centro (5.6 km²) #Cayo Lobos (southernmost) (0.2 km²) The natural vegetation of the islands is largely mangrove near the shore shading into open woodland more than from the shore. There is an American crocodile reserve on the southernmost (and biggest) island. The islands (in common with many isolated tropical islands) are thickly populated with small crabs, which are tame and can be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Indian Manatee
The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on underwater plants and uses its whiskers to navigate. It is divided into two endangered subspecies, the Florida manatee (''T. m. latirostris'') in the US and the Antillean manatee (''T. m. manatus'') in the Caribbean, both of which face pressure from habitat loss, pollution, and other human activity. The West Indian manatee is the largest of the sirenians (order Sirenia), a group of large aquatic mammals that includes the dugong, other manatees, and the extinct Steller's sea cow. Manatees are herbivores, have developed vocal communication abilities, and are covered in highly sensitive whiskers (called vibrissae) that are used for feeding and navigation. In breeding season, several males form mating herds around an individual female; on aver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eustrombus Gigas
''Aliger gigas,'' originally known as ''Strombus gigas'' or more recently as ''Lobatus gigas'', commonly known as the queen conch, is a species of large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family of true conches, the Strombidae. This species is one of the largest molluscs native to the Caribbean Sea, and tropical northwestern Atlantic, from Bermuda to Brazil, reaching up to in shell length. ''A. gigas'' is closely related to the goliath conch, '' Lobatus goliath'', a species endemic to Brazil, as well as the rooster conch, '' Aliger gallus''. The queen conch is herbivorous. It feeds by browsing for plant and algal material growing in the seagrass beds, and scavenging for decaying plant matter. These large sea snails typically reside in seagrass beds, which are sandy plains covered in swaying sea grass and associated with coral reefs, although the exact habitat of this species varies according to developmental age. The adult animal has a very large, solid and heavy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hawksbill Turtle
The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is largely limited to tropical and subtropical marine and estuary ecosystems. The hawksbill's appearance is similar to that of other marine turtles. In general, it has a flattened body shape, a protective carapace, and flipper-like limbs, adapted for swimming in the open ocean. ''E. imbricata'' is easily distinguished from other sea turtles by its sharp, curving beak with prominent tomium, and the saw-like appearance of its shell margins. Hawksbill shells slightly change colors, depending on water temperature. While this turtle lives part of its life in the open ocean, it spends more time in shallow lagoons and coral reefs. The World Conservation Union, primarily as a result of human fishing practices, classifies ''E. imbricata'' as critically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leatherback Turtle
The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weights of . It is the only living species in the genus ''Dermochelys'' and family Dermochelyidae. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell; instead, its carapace is covered by oily flesh and flexible, leather-like skin, for which it is named. Taxonomy and evolution Taxonomy ''Dermochelys coriacea'' is the only species in genus ''Dermochelys''. The genus, in turn, contains the only extant member of the family Dermochelyidae. Domenico Agostino Vandelli named the species first in 1761 as ''Testudo coriacea'' after an animal captured at Ostia and donated to the University of Padua by Pope Clement XIII. In 1816, French zoologist Henri Blainville coined the term ''Dermochelys''. The leatherback was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loggerhead Sea Turtle
The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully grown. The adult loggerhead sea turtle weighs approximately , with the largest specimens weighing in at more than . The skin ranges from yellow to brown in color, and the shell is typically reddish brown. No external differences in sex are seen until the turtle becomes an adult, the most obvious difference being the adult males have thicker tails and shorter plastrons (lower shells) than the females. The loggerhead sea turtle is found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. It spends most of its life in saltwater and estuarine habitats, with females briefly coming ashore to lay eggs. The loggerhead sea turtle has a low reproductive rate; females lay an average of four egg clutches and then become ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Green Sea Turtle
The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black. The dorsoventrally flattened body of ''C. mydas'' is covered by a large, teardrop-shaped carapace; it has a pair of large, paddle-like flippers. It is usually lightly colored, although in the eastern Pacific populations, parts of the carapace can be almost black. Unlike other members of its family, such as the hawksbill sea turtle, ''C. mydas'' is mostly herbivorous. The adults usually inhabit shallow lagoons, feeding mostly on various ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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