Hybridization between a Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, and Loggerhead Turtle, Caretta caretta, and the first record of a Green Turtle in Atlantic Canada

Abstract

The Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) principally occupies tropical and subtropical waters, although juveniles are known to occur seasonally in temperate coastal waters. Collaboration with commercial fishers in eastern Canada yielded the most northerly records of this species in the northwest Atlantic. Here we report on the first confirmed record of a Green Turtle in eastern Canada and on the occurrence of a rare Green Turtle-Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta) hybrid. Hybridization between the Carettini and Chelonini is extraordinary given that these groups have been genetically distinct for 50 million years or more.