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Lepidochelys

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Lepidochelys, the ridley sea turtles, is a genus in the family Cheloniidae comprising two species, Kemp's ridley and the olive ridley, the smallest living sea turtles, with adults reaching 51 to 71 centimeters in length and 36 to 50 kilograms in weight. They feed on crabs, fish, cephalopods, clams and some marine vegetation; Kemp's ridley nests chiefly in Mexico and is listed as an endangered species in the United States, and the origin of the name ridley remains uncertain, with the French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacepede once calling them bastard turtles.

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