Four new records of stranded Kemp’s ridley turtle Lepidochelys kempii in the NW Iberian Peninsula

Background The critically endangered Kemp’s ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) has a reduced distribution range concentrated in the Gulf of Mexico and only a few pelagic stage juveniles occasionally strand on European coasts. In the study area only three individuals have been recorded previously, most recently in 2001.