HiguInfo- Home of Sea Turtles

Distribution

The green turtle is globally distributed and mainly found in tropical and subtropical waters. Though its distribution range span from 55°N to 46°S latitude.

Description

Its appearance is that of a typical sea turtle, with a dorsoventrally flattened body. Its carapace is composed of five central scutes, flanked by four pairs of costal scutes. Scutes do no overlap. Different from its close relative, hawksbill turtle, the dorsal surface of its head has only a single pair of prefrontal scales. Color range from brown to black, some may be spotted or marbled with variegated patterns. It takes a juvenile green turtle 20 to 50 years to reach sexual maturity. A matured adult usually weigh more than 100 kg, with carapace length longer than 1 meter.

Ecology

Green turtle is the most abundant sea turtle species. However they’re listed as “endangered” around the world on the IUCN Red List. Hatchlings feed on planktons, hiding and floating along in sargassum seaweed. As they grow older, the juvenile green turtles will return to coastal areas, where they will forage in coral reefs or sea grass beds for algae and sea grass, and continue to mature. The color of their fat is green, from which they take their name.

Major Threats

The population of green turtles worldwide is estimated to be more than 200,000 individuals. Except for a few well-protected areas, such as Florida, United States, the population is in decline, along with disappearance of nesting beaches.