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Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Reptilia > Order: Testudines > Family: Dermochelyidae > Genus: Dermochelys > Species: Dermochelys coriacea

Leatherback - Dermochelys coriacea (Vandelli, 1761)

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Quick facts

Threat status Europe	Not evaluated (IUCN)
Protected by	EU Habitats Directive and 11 other international agreements
Most preferred habitats	coastal marine inlets and transitional waters open ocean shelf
Natura 2000 species code	1223

Distribution

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Threat and conservation status

IUCN Red List status of threatened species

The IUCN Red List threat status assesses the risk of extinction.

World

Vulnerable

Europe

Not evaluated

IUCN Red List Category

Not Evaluated	Near Threatened	Regionally Extinct
Not Applicable	Vulnerable	Extinct in the Wild
Data Deficient	Endangered	Extinct
Least Concern	Critically Endangered

Sources:

EU conservation status

Conservation status assesses every six years and for each biogeographical region the condition of habitats and species compared to the favourable status as described in the Habitats Directive. The map shows the 2013-2018 assessments as reported by EU Member State. Assessments are further detailed in the summary document available behind the link below.

Good: the species is viable and maintaining itself on a long-term basis, its natural range is not reduced, and it has a sufficient large habitat.
Poor: the species is not as critical as being unfavourable-bad, but still requires significant conservation and restoration measure to make it viable in the long-term, or to enlarged its current range, or to improve the quality and availability of its habitat.
Bad: the species is either not maintaining itself on a long-term basis and is not viable, or its natural range as been or is being drastically reduced, or its habitat is largely insufficient; the species requires major conservation and restoration measures.
Unknown: the information available for the species is scarce and does not allow a proper assessment of its conservation status.

Natura 2000 sites

Not available

Legal status

Mentioned in the following international legal instruments and agreements

Legal text	Annex	Conditions	More information
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)	Annex I: species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorized in exceptional circumstances.	Synonym for this species is listed in CITES. See there for more details.	http://www.cites.org/eng
Barcelona Convention Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD Protocol)	Annex II: Endangered or threatened species that the Parties shall manage with the aim of maintaining them in a favourable state of conservation. They shall ensure their maximum possible protection and recovery.	Synonym for this species is listed in Appendix II of the Barcelona Convention Protocol. See there for more details.	http://rac-spa.org/protocol http://rac-spa.org/sites/def...sion_ig_19_12_en.pdf
Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic ("OSPAR Convention") (OSPAR Convention)	or declining species in the North East Atlantic. The purpose of the list is to guide the OSPAR Commission in setting priorities for its further work on the conservation and protection of marine biodiversity. The inclusion of a species or of a type of habitat on this list has no other significance.	Synonym for this species is listed in OSPAR Convention. See there for more details.
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora - consolidated version 01/01/2007 (EU Habitats Directive)	Annex IV: animal and plant species of community interest in need of strict protection.		http://ec.europa.eu/environm...rective/index_en.htm
Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats (Bern Convention)	Annex II: strictly protected fauna species		http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cul.../bern/default_en.asp
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. (Bonn Convention)	Annex I: migratory species which are endangered and must be protected by Parties		http://www.cms.int/
	Annex II: migratory species which have an unfavourable conservation status and which require international agreements for their conservation and management, as well as those which have a conservation status which would significantly benefit from the international co-operation that could be achieved by an international agreement.	Synonym for this species is listed in Appendix II of the Bonn Convention (CMS). See there for more details.
	Annex II: migratory species which have an unfavourable conservation status and which require international agreements for their conservation and management, as well as those which have a conservation status which would significantly benefit from the international co-operation that could be achieved by an international agreement.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)	Annex I: species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorized in exceptional circumstances.		http://www.cites.org/eng
Commission regulation (EU) No 1320/2014, of 1 December 2014, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (EU regulation of trade of fauna and flora)	Annex A includes: All CITES Appendix I species, except where EU Member States have entered a reservation; Some CITES Appendix II and III species, for which the EU has adopted stricter domestic measures; Some non-CITES species		http://ec.europa.eu/environm...s/legislation_en.htm
Barcelona Convention Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD Protocol)	Annex II: Endangered or threatened species that the Parties shall manage with the aim of maintaining them in a favourable state of conservation. They shall ensure their maximum possible protection and recovery.		http://rac-spa.org/protocol http://rac-spa.org/sites/def...sion_ig_19_12_en.pdf
Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic ("OSPAR Convention") (OSPAR Convention)	Initial OSPAR List of Threatened and/or Declining Species and Habitats (Reference Number: 2003-14) in addition to Annex V		http://www.ospar.org/content...240000_000000_000000

Common names and synonyms

Common Name	Language	Reference
Leatherback	English	Gasc J.P. and al.
Leatherback turtle	English	OSPAR Convention Annex V
Lederschildkröte	German	Gasc J.P. and al.
Tortue luth	French	Gasc J.P. and al.
Tortuga laud	Spanish	Gasc J.P. and al.

Synonym	Author
Testudo coriacea	Linnaeus, 1766
Testudo lyra	Lacepède, 1788
Sphargis coriacea	Gray, 1831

Other resources

EoL	Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea	Fauna Europaea
GBIF	Global Biodiversity Information Facility
Habitats Directive Art. 17-2006 summary
ITIS (Valid name)	Interagency Taxonomic Information System
NCBI search	National Center for Biotechnology Information
PESI (Accepted)	Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure
Species+	Species+ by UNEP-WCMC
Wikipedia	Wikipedia
WoRMS	World Register of Marine Species

External data

No external data sets available for this species

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