Turtle (Green) - Overview

Order: Testudines

Family: Cheloniidae

Species: Chelonia mydas

IUCN Red List status: Endangered

Population trend: Decreasing

Distribution: Found in all the warmer oceans and in the mediteranean. Most important rookeries (nesting beaches) are Tortugero in Costa Rica, Ascension Island in the Caribbean and Ascension Island in mid-Atlantic.

Habitat: Warm water, shallow enough to allow sea grass to grow, the turtle's favourite food. Found far out at sea when en route to nesting beaches.

Description: thick, heavy, bony shell, covered in plate-like scales. Adults are olive or dark brown in colour, with yellow spots. Its flesh is green, and its is this which gives it its name.

Size: length up to 1.5m. Weight up to 185kg. There are seven species of sea turtle, the largest being the leatherback which grows to over 2 metres long.

Life-span: 40-50 years.

Food: adults eat only plants, prefering sea grass. Hatchlings eat small animals as well as algae.