Green sea turtle

Chelonia mydas · The green sea turtle is a large sea turtle that lives in tropical and subtropical seas around the world.

Also called Green turtle, Black sea turtle, Pacific green turtle, Common green turtle.

Green sea turtle
Photo: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0
Green sea turtle
Photo: P.Lindgren, CC BY-SA 3.0
Green sea turtle
Photo: Anna Varona, CC BY 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassReptilia
OrderTestudines
FamilyCheloniidae
GenusChelonia
SpeciesChelonia mydas

Where it lives

Tropical and subtropical seas worldwide; nests on sandy beaches.

Fun facts

  • Green sea turtles are named for the greenish color of their fat, not their shell, which is olive to black.
  • Some green sea turtles swim more than 2,600 kilometres to reach the beaches where they lay their eggs.
  • Green sea turtles have an internal magnetic compass, using tiny magnetic crystals in their brains to find their way back to nesting grounds.
  • The temperature of the nest decides whether baby green turtles are male or female: warm nests make females and cooler nests make males.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).