Turtle

Chelonia mydas

The green sea turtle, also called the green turtle, black sea turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae and the only species in the genus Chelonia. It ranges through tropical and subtropical seas worldwide, with distinct Atlantic and Pacific populations and a presence in the Indian Ocean as well. Its name comes not from its shell, which is olive to black, but from the green fat beneath the carapace produced by its strictly seagrass diet.

Family

Cheloniidae

Avg Size

100-120 cm

Habitat

Green sea turtles use three habitat types over their lives. They lay their eggs on beaches, while mature animals spend most of their time in shallow coastal waters with lush seagrass beds, frequenting inshore bays, lagoons and shoals rich in seagrass. Entire generations often migrate back and forth between a single pair of feeding and nesting grounds, and the species is distributed across warm tropical to subtropical waters worldwide, limited by ocean temperatures below about 7 to 10 degrees Celsius.

Behaviour

As one of the first sea turtles to be studied, the green turtle has shaped much of what is known about sea turtle ecology, and its way of life changes sharply between stages. Newly hatched young are carnivorous, pelagic creatures of the open-ocean mininekton, whereas immature juveniles and adults graze as herbivores in inshore seagrass meadows. Its diet shifts with age, beginning carnivorous in juveniles and becoming omnivorous as the animal matures.

Where & When to See It

Lighthouse

Turtle

Where & When to See It

More Invertebrates