Discovery of the northernmost loggerhead sea turtle ( Caretta caretta) nest

Abstract

A loggerhead turtle nest was accidentally discovered during the raking of a beach at St Tropez, France, on 18 July 2006. This is the northernmost loggerhead nest so far in the Mediterranean and in the world. The clutch was deposited close to the sea in a sand-soil-pebbles mixture and became partially inundated in September. In total there were 141 eggs, none of which hatched. Only 24% of the eggs contained embryos, while 107 eggs contained yolk but no visible embryo. The failure to hatch was probably the result of the non-suitable nest environment, the low mean incubation temperatures and the inundation. Further observations of beaches are recommended to establish other nesting occurrences of loggerhead turtles in this region.