Green Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas

Status:
US - Listed as Endangered by the US Federeal Endangered Species Act of 1973
International - Listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Natural Resources
 Subspecies:
Atlantic Green Sea Turtle - Chelonia mydas mydas
Eastern Pacific Green Sea Turtle - Chelonia mydas agassizii
 Size:
Large hard-shelled sea turlte
Average adult shell 100 cm SCL (3.3 ft)
Average weight from 300 to 350 lbs (150 kg)
Hatchlings weigh about 25 g, carapace lenghth of 4 to 5 cm
 Diet:
Mostly herbivorous
Juveniles - eat plants and other organisms such as: jellyfish, crabs, sponges, snails, and worms
Adults - spend most of their time feeding on algae in the sea and the grass that grow in shallow waters
 Habitat/Range:
Pelagic as hatchlings; benthic as juveniles and adults
Stays near the coastline and around islands, coral reefs, worm reefs, rocky bottoms
Lives in bays and protected shores containing seagrass, macroalgae pastures
Rarely observed in open ocean
Found in all temperate and subtropical waters throughout the world

Description

Head:
- small, rounded, blunt
- single pair of prefrontal scales (scales in front of eyes)
- serrated jaw

Flippers:

- 1 visible claw

Carapace:

- bony, without ridges
- large, non-overlapping scutes (scales)
- 4 lateral/costal scutes
- color varies:
- pale to very dark green
- plain to very brillant yellow, brown, and green tones with radiating stripes
- body oval and slgihtly depressed (flattened)
- males are larger than females and their tails extended far beyond the carapace

Plastron:

- color varies:
- white, dirty white or yellowish in Atlantic populations
- dark grey-bluish-green in Pacific populations

Hatchlings:

- carapace is dark brown to nearly black
- plastron is white
- flippers have white margrins

Reproduction

- males and females mature between 10 to 24 years
- breeding season depends on latitude
- Atlantic poplulation - March thru October (peak May thru June)
- internal fertilization occurs through copulation
- mating occurs underwater or at the surface near nesting beaches close to shore
- nesting occurs every 3 to 5 years; up to 7 clutches, but usually only 2 to 3 times per nesting season at 12 to 14 day intervals
- females leave the water and returns to her natal beach to lay eggs
- digs pits with her flippers
- lays 100 to 150 eggs per clutch
- covers them with sand for protection and returns to the sea
- incubation period is from 45 to 60 days
- can live to 100 years

Distribution

- found in all temperate and subtropical waters around the world
- US Atlantic populations range around the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and continental U.S. from Texas to Massachusetts
- rare north of Cape Hatteras
- migrate seasonally great distances between feeding and nesting areas

Status and Human Interations

- breeding populations endangered in Florida, USA
- historically exploited for eggs and meat
- in the US Atlantic, degradation of nesting and feeding habitats, boat collisions, fishing gear entanglement, and disease are serious problems
- humans have already caused the extinction of large green turtle populations, including those that once nested in Bermuda and Cayman Islands
in parts of Florida (Indian River) more than 50% of the green sea turtles are afflicted with fibropapilloma tumors

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Source of Information: Crite, J. 2000. "Chelonia mydas" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 2004 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Chelonia_mydas.html.
"Green Sea Turlte" (On-line), Caribbean Conservation Corporation & Sea Turtle Survival League. Accessed March 2004 at http://www.cccturtle.org/green.htm.
Wynne, Kate and Malia Schwartz. 1999. Guide to Marine Mammals & Turtles of the U.S. Atantic & Gulf of Mexico.
"Atlantic Green Sea Turtle" (On-line), Turtles.org. Accessed March 2004 at http://www.turtles.org/atlgrnd.htm.

e-mail questions, comments, and/or suggestions to
wcrc@sci.tamucc.edu

Internet Coordinator: Candice Orca Mottet