Assessment of the origin of a loggerhead turtle, caretta caretta, found in kuwaiti waters, using mitochondrial dna: (Reptilia: Cheloniidae)

306 base pairs from the control (D-loop) region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of a Loggerhead Turtle, Caretta caretta Linnaeus, 1758, from Kuwait were sequenced in order to identify the origin of this turtle. Neighbour-joining tree analyses with sequences available in the GenBank showed that it had a close relationship with those of the Atlantic colonies. For adult Loggerhead Turtles of the Atlantic colonies which undertake long distance migrations, the southern extension of Africa might be less formidable as a continental barrier to their passage into the Indian Ocean and subsequently into the Arabian area because of their temperate distribution.