GREEN SEA TURTLE

(Chelonia mydas)

General Characteristics
The name of the green turtle originates from the
green color of the fat located beneath its carapace
(shell). The carapace is oval shaped and has four
pairs of costal scutes (non-overlapping) and the
margin is sometimes scalloped, but not serrated like
the hawksbill. Coloration of the green turtle’s
carapace is variable in adults, usually earth tones
such as, pale to dark greens or yellow, sometimes
with radiating stripes. Their plastron is yellowish in color. Their head is rounded,
approximately 15 cm (6 in.) wide and easily distinguished by having one pair
(instead of two pairs like most sea turtles) of prefrontal scales (scales located in
front of its eyes). Within the eastern Pacific Ocean, some experts consider the
East Pacific green turtles, commonly known as black turtles, a separate species
C. agassizii; however, genetic analyses do not support such taxonomic distinctiveness. Pacific green turtles are
distinctly darker in color (grey or black).

Size
The green turtle is the largest of the Cheloniidae family; their carapace typically measures 120 cm
(4 ft.) in length and weighs up to 230 Kg. (507 lbs.). They have a single claw on each flipper. The
largest green turtle ever found was 152 cm (5 ft.) in length and weighed 395 Kg. (871 lbs.). Pacific
green turtles are smaller, typically measuring 80 cm (2 ½ ft.) as seen in the photo on the right.

Habitat
Green turtles are found in all temperate, sub-
tropical and tropical waters throughout the
world. However, it is common for them to stay
near the coastline and around islands, living in
bays and protected shores, especially in areas with seagrass beds.
They are rarely observed in the open ocean.
Diet
The diet of the green turtle is thought to change significantly during
its lifetime. Juveniles are carnivorous, often eating sea worms,
crustaceans and aquatic insects, as well as grasses and algae. The
green turtle is the only sea turtle that is essentially herbivorous as
an adult, showing a tendency to eat mostly seagrass and algae.
Their jaws are finely serrated, helping them graze on vegetation.
Green turtles play an important ecological role by delivering
nutrients from nutrient-rich areas (for example, seagrass
beds) to nutrient-poor areas like nesting beaches.

Nesting
The green turtle is thought to be one of the longest living sea
turtles, and reaching sexual maturity at a late age, estimated
between 20 and 50 years. Green turtles are also known for
their nesting site fidelity, which means the same turtle will
return to the same beach each time she is ready to nest,
often emerging within a few hundred yards of her last nest.
They nest every two years or more, laying between three to
five times per season. The green turtle lays an average of
115 eggs in each nest, where they will incubate for about 60 days. Nesting occurs throughout the east coast of the
United States and Caribbean down to the northern coasts of South America. However, the largest nesting site in the
western Hemisphere is located in Tortuguero, Costa Rica.
The Pacific green turtles have been spotted as far north as British Columbia, Canada and Baja California and as far
south as Chile. Most nesting occurs in Mexico, Central America and the Galapagos Islands.
Hatchlings
Green turtle hatchlings are generally dark brown or black in color and easily distinguished by their white underside and
white flipper margins. The typical carapace length is 49 mm (2 in.).
Migrations
Green turtles are highly migratory, utilizing a broad range of habitats throughout
their lifetime. One method of tracking sea turtles is through the use of flipper
tags which are placed on nesting turtles and encoded with a distinct number.
Tag returns offer information vital for conservation efforts, but lack information
regarding the actual migration route of the turtles that satellite tracking can
offer. The longest running tagging project and one of the largest nesting
colonies of green turtles is in Tortuguero, Costa Rica, where information
collected from long term tag returns have shown that turtles nesting in
Tortuguero disperse to feeding areas throughout the Caribbean, mainly to the
Miskito Coast of Nicaragua. This information enables conservation efforts to be
focused on specific geographic areas.
Current Status
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) classifies the species as Endangered
(facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future).
Threats
One of the most detrimental human threats to green turtles is the intentional
harvesting of eggs and adults from nesting beaches and foraging grounds. The
meat of the green turtles is also considered to be a delicacy, thus is
commercially harvested. Bycatch in marine fisheries, habitat degradation and disease are other detrimental threats to
green turtles.
Population Trends
Trends are difficult to determine for this species due to the wide fluctuations in year to year nesting. However, they still
nest in significant numbers in Florida and some studies have shown stable, if not increasing, populations in areas such
as Tortuguero, Costa Rica. This may be attributed to increased protection efforts.
Inter-American Sea Turtle Convention
Cooperative efforts from a variety of governmental as well as non-governmental organizations to conserve distinct sea
turtle populations inhabiting the American Continent have existed for many years. The Inter-American Convention for
the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC), which entered into force in May of 2001, provides an opportunity
for dialogue and action favoring sea turtle management. The IAC is the only international body establishing legal
instruments and guidelines that commit the Parties to, among others, protect and conserve populations of sea turtles
and their habitat, reduce incidental capture and foster international cooperation for research and management of sea
turtles. Currently, eleven countries- Belize, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, United States, Guatemala, Netherlands
Antilles, Honduras, México, Peru and Venezuela – are Signatory countries, meanwhile two more, Nicaragua and
Uruguay, have sent in the necessary instruments for accession to the Government of Venezuela, the official
depository nation.

Sources:
Caribbean Conservation Corporation & Sea Turtle Survival League (www.cccturtle.org)
NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources (www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/species/turtles)
Pritchard, P.C.H. and J.A. Mortimer. 1999. Taxonomy, External Morphology, and Species Identification, p. 21-38. In:
K.L. Eckert,
K.A. Bjorndal, F.A. Abreu G. and M.A. Donnelly (Editors), Research and Management Techniques for the
Conservation of Sea
Turtles. IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group Publ. No. 4. Washington, D.C.
Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network (www.widecast.org)
Published by:
Pro Tempore Secretariat of the Inter-American Convention for the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles (IAC),
San Jose, Costa Rica, April, 2005

Edited by:
Belinda Dick

English Translation:
Belinda Dick

Photo Credits:
East Pacific green turtle - Wallace J. Nichols
Feeding green turtle - Caroline Rogers
Nesting green turtle - Matthew Godfrey
Hatchlings – Caribbean Conservation Corporation

Illustrations:
Tom McFarland