Green Sea Turtle
Endangered Species
Identification
Scientific name: Chelonia mydas
- Largest of the hard-shelled sea turtles
- Up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length
- Carapace color ranges from olive brown to almost black
- 4 pairs of costal scutes
- A single pair of scales between the eyes (prefrontal scutes)
- Scutes do not overlap
- "Sunburst" pattern on scutes
- Up to 500 pounds (225 kg)
Location and habitat
Habitat
Green sea turtles have ocean water habitats and nesting habitats. Once a green sea turtle hatches and heads into ocean waters, it rarely returns to land. Instead, it feeds on off-shore plant blooms around islands and beaches. Green sea turtles stay in shallow waters off-shore until the breeding season.
Locations
Found in sub-tropics and tropics worldwide.
Green Turtles Habitat
Green Sea Turtles Location
(Yellow) Green Sea Turtles range
Green Sea Turtle Nesting
Classificaion
Scientific name: Chelonia myda
Common Name: Green Sea Turtle
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Procolophonomorpha testudines (chelonii)
Family: Cheloniidae
Genus: Chelonia
Species: C. mydas
Role in Ecosystem
Diet: herbivore
Adults are referred to as herbivores although as hatchlings they are omnivores. Their diet consists primarily of algae, sea grasses, and seaweed. Green sea turtles have a finely serrated (saw like) beak that allows them to scrape algae off rocks and tear grasses and seaweeds.
Threats and Solutions
Population declines are mainly due to harvest for eggs and meat for human consumption. Fibropapilloma (also known as FP) is a disease associated with lesions and rapid tumor growth on the eyes, mouth, and soft-skin areas, as well as internal organs. FP, believed to be connected to pollution, has greatly affected their populations, especially in Florida and Hawaii, but also the Caribbean and Australia.
Other threats include ingestion of marine debris, boat strikes, coastal development, feeding habitat degradation, and incidental capture in fishing gear.
o Keep beaches clean- please do not leave trash on the beaches, and if you feel inspired, please remove trash left by others!
o Avoid walking on the sandy dunes above the tide line, as you could step on a turtle nest.
o Avoid unnecessary lighting (such as flashlights and camera flashes) at night; the moon should be the only light present, and will guide the hatchlings to the sea.
o If you see a turtle coming ashore to nest at night, observe and enjoy from a distance, but do not approach the turtle.
Fun Facts
· Like other sea turtles, the green sea turtle cannot pull its head into its shell.
· First of all Green Sea Turtles are usually up to five feet long. They weigh 500 to 700 pounds.
· Every two to four years, at night, the females crawl on the beach and start to dig a hole to lay their eggs in.
· The Green Turtle is an endangered species. The places where they eat and nest are vulnerable to humans because they are well known and unchanging.