Corresponding author: Eric Flores ( sailax1@gmail.com ) © Eric Flores. This is an open access preprint distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Flores E (2022) Recent observations of Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761), in the waters of Pacific Panama. ARPHA Preprints. https://doi.org/10.3897/arphapreprints.e81573 |
The situation of the Eastern Tropical Pacific subpopulation of the Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is critical due to the drastic declines of nesting females. Evidence of the presence of Leatherback sea turtles along the Pacific coast of Panama is anecdotal and is based on the local knowledge of local residents. I present here an uncommon observation of a sub adult and an adult of D. coriacea in the waters off the coast of Azuero Peninsula in central Panama. These observations indicate the need for intensive surveys along this coast that in part may rely on key local informants to urgently implement conservation efforts for this species.