More information on "Joselito"

 

More information on Joselito.

I posted on this sea monster Here.

I have some additional information on sea turtles on the southern Buenos Aires sea shore. Yesterday I received my June issue of Aves Argentinas (the journal of the Asociación Ornitológica del Plata), and I was surprised to read an interesting article on sea fauna conservation in which it mentions sightings of dead sea turtles on Buenos Aires' beaches.[1]

The ECOFAM project (Coastal Team of Sea Fauna and Environment Observers) identifies and records the bodies of dead sea animals along the coast in an effort to get a better understanding of the ecosystem. In the area close to Necochea (where Joselito was sighted), between Miramar and Reta, they have identified 3 dead turtles in 2007 and 6 in 2008.

These have been the following:

'07  '08
2     3   Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)
1     2   Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
-     1   Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta)

This indicates that these creatures could be mistakenly identified as a "sea serpent" by observers on the beach, who are not used to seeing such animals.

Bibliography.

[1] Tamini, L. and Dellacasa, R., (2008). Conservación de la fauna marina. Un trabajo Conjunto entre cientificos y pobladores. Aves Argentinas. Año XI. 25 - 06-2009. pp. 24.



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Patagonian Monsters