First Record of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle Lepidochelys olivacea (Reptilia: Testudines: Cheloniidae) from South Korea

Abstract

We report Lepidochelys olivacea from coastal waters of South Korea for the first time on the basis of two specimens (one male and one female) whose taxonomic identities were verified on morphological and molecular grounds. Four species of sea turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, Chelonia mydas, Caretta caretta, and Eretmochelys imbricata. have been recorded from South Korean waters, and present findings add another species to the sea turtle fauna of this region.