Worldwide petroleum exploration and transportation continue to impact the health of the marine environment through both catastrophic and chronic spillage. Of the impacted fauna, marine reptiles are often overlooked. While marine reptiles are sensitive to xenobiotics, there is a paucity of petroleum toxicity data for these specialized fauna in peer reviewed literature. Here we review the known impacts of petroleum spillage to marine reptiles, specifically to marine turtles and iguanas with an emphasis on physiology and fitness related toxicological effects. Secondly, we recommend standardized toxicity testing on surrogate species to elucidate the mechanisms by which petroleum related mortalities occur in the field following catastrophic spillage and to better link physiological and fitness related endpoints. Finally, we propose that marine reptiles could serve as sentinel species for marine ecosystem monitoring in the case of petroleum spillage. Comprehensive petroleum toxicity data on marine reptiles is needed in order to serve as a foundation for future research with newer, unconventional crude oils of unknown toxicity such as diluted bitumen.

全球石油勘探和运输继续通过灾难性和长期性泄漏影响海洋环境的健康。在受影响的动物中，海洋爬行动物通常被忽视。尽管海洋爬行动物对异种生物敏感，但在同行评审的文献中，这些特殊动物的石油毒性数据很少。在这里，我们回顾了石油泄漏对海洋爬行动物（特别是对海龟和鬣蜥）的已知影响，重点是生理和健康相关的毒理作用。其次，我们建议对替代物种进行标准化的毒性测试，以阐明灾难性溢漏后田间与石油有关的死亡率发生的机制，并更好地关联生理和健身相关的终点。最后，我们建议，在发生石油泄漏的情况下，海洋爬行动物可以作为监测海洋生态系统的前哨物种。需要有关海洋爬行动物的全面石油毒性数据，以便为将来研究毒性未知的新型非常规原油（如稀释的沥青）奠定基础。