Classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:†Procolophonomorpha
Order:Testudines
=Chelonii)
Suborder:Cryptodira
Family:Cheloniidae
Genus:Chelonia
Species:C. mydas
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:†Procolophonomorpha
Order:Testudines
=Chelonii)
Suborder:Cryptodira
Family:Cheloniidae
Genus:Chelonia
Species:C. mydas
Common Name
Green sea turtle
Morphology
Like other sea turtles, green sea turtles migrate long distances between feeding
grounds and hatching beaches. Many islands worldwide are known as Turtle Island due to green sea turtles nesting on
their beaches. Females crawl out on beaches, dig nests and lay eggs during the
night. Later, hatchlings emerge and scramble into the water. Those that reach maturity may live to eighty years in the
wild.
grounds and hatching beaches. Many islands worldwide are known as Turtle Island due to green sea turtles nesting on
their beaches. Females crawl out on beaches, dig nests and lay eggs during the
night. Later, hatchlings emerge and scramble into the water. Those that reach maturity may live to eighty years in the
wild.
Biology
Green turtle fact file
- The green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is one of the largest and most widespread of all the marine turtles. The oval carapace varies from olive to brown, grey and black with bold streaks and blotches, but the common name, green turtle, is derived from the green colour of the fat and connective tissues of this species. Two subspecies are traditionally recognised; the Pacific green turtle (Chelonia mydas agassizii) tends to be smaller than its Atlantic cousin (C. m. mydas) with a narrower carapace that may sometimes be completely black, providing the other common name of 'black turtle' to certain populations. The plastron, or undershell, of the green turtle remains a pale yellow or orange throughout life. Males are generally smaller than females, and the green turtle differs in appearance from other marine turtles by the possession of a single pair of scales in front of the eyes and a serrated bottom jaw . The tiny black hatchlings are only around 5 centimetres long.
French Tortue Comestible, Tortue Franche, Tortue Verte. Spanish Tortuga Blanca, Tortuga Verde. Size Length: 80 - 150 cm Weight 65 - 136.2 kg Related species Green turtle biology The green turtle has particularly slow growth rates and appears to take longer to become reproductively mature than any other sea turtle species, with age at sexual maturity ranging from 26 to 40 years. Undertaking tremendous feats of navigation, an adult green turtle will return to the same beach to breed each season. Astonishingly, part of the population in Brazil migrates around 2,250 kilometres across the open ocean to breed on the Ascension Islands. Mating tends to occur just offshore of the nesting beaches, with the male green turtle using a curved claw on each front flipper and a flat nail at the end of the tail to grip the female. The female hauls out onto the beach at night and digs a large nest with the back flippers beyond the high tide mark, typically laying between 100 and 150 eggs before proceeding to cover the nest with sand. The female returns to breed only once every two to five years but will lay up to nine nests in that one season. Incubation takes between 45 and 70 days, and temperature has been shown to determine the sex of hatchlings; with females being produced at warmer temperatures. Breaking open the eggs with a special hooked 'egg tooth' that will subsequently be lost; hatchlings use their powerful front flippers to reach the surface, and then proceed to the sea. The soft-bodied juveniles are particularly vulnerable at this time from a variety of predators, such as ghost crabs and gulls on the beach to sharks and dolphins in the water
Distribution Map
Importance: Ecological and Economical
The green turtle is a large, weighty sea turtle with a wide, smooth carapace, or shell. It inhabits tropical and subtropical coastal waters around the world and has been observed clambering onto land to sunbathe.
It is named not for the color of its shell, which is normally brown or olive depending on its habitat, but for the greenish color of its skin. There are two types of green turtles—scientists are currently debating whether they are subspecies or separate species—including the Atlantic green turtle, normally found off the shores of Europe and North America, and the Eastern Pacific green turtle, which has been found in coastal waters from Alaska to Chile.
Weighing up to 700 pounds (317.5 kilograms) green turtles are among the largest sea turtles in the world. Their proportionally small head, which is nonretractable, extends from a heart-shaped carapace that measures up to 5 feet (1.5 meters). Males are slightly larger than females and have a longer tail. Both have flippers that resemble paddles, which make them powerful and graceful swimmers.
It is named not for the color of its shell, which is normally brown or olive depending on its habitat, but for the greenish color of its skin. There are two types of green turtles—scientists are currently debating whether they are subspecies or separate species—including the Atlantic green turtle, normally found off the shores of Europe and North America, and the Eastern Pacific green turtle, which has been found in coastal waters from Alaska to Chile.
Weighing up to 700 pounds (317.5 kilograms) green turtles are among the largest sea turtles in the world. Their proportionally small head, which is nonretractable, extends from a heart-shaped carapace that measures up to 5 feet (1.5 meters). Males are slightly larger than females and have a longer tail. Both have flippers that resemble paddles, which make them powerful and graceful swimmers.
Interesting Facts
Unlike most sea turtles, adult green turtles are herbivorous, feeding on sea grasses and algae. Juvenile green turtles, however, will also eat invertebrates like crabs, jellyfish, and sponges.
While most sea turtles warm themselves by swimming close to the surface of shallow waters, the Eastern Pacific green turtle will take to land to bask in the sun. Occasionally seen sunbathing alongside seals and albatrosses, it is one of the few marine turtles known to leave the water other than at nesting times.
Green turtles, like other sea turtles, undertake lengthy migrations from feeding sites to nesting grounds, normally on sandy beaches. Mating occurs every two to four years and normally takes place in shallow waters close to the shore. To nest, females leave the sea and choose an area, often on the same beach used by their mothers, to lay their eggs. They dig a pit in the sand with their flippers, fill it with a clutch of 100 to 200 eggs, cover the pit and return to the sea, leaving the eggs to hatch after about two months. The most dangerous time of a green turtle’s life is when it makes the journey from nest to sea. Multiple predators, including crabs and flocks of gulls, voraciously prey on hatchlings during this short scamper.
Green turtles are listed as an endangered species, and a subpopulation in the Mediterranean is listed as critically endangered. Despite this, they are still killed for their meat and eggs. Their numbers are also reduced by boat propeller accidents, fishnet-caused drowning, and the destruction of their nesting grounds by human encroachment.
Careless fishing, habitat destruction, and plastic pollution have left all six sea turtle species that swim in U.S. waters threatened or endangered. For millions of years, sea turtles have been a vital part of ocean ecosystems – but today they are on the brink of extinction.
We're working to protect sea turtles and their habitats around the world, but we need your help.
While most sea turtles warm themselves by swimming close to the surface of shallow waters, the Eastern Pacific green turtle will take to land to bask in the sun. Occasionally seen sunbathing alongside seals and albatrosses, it is one of the few marine turtles known to leave the water other than at nesting times.
Green turtles, like other sea turtles, undertake lengthy migrations from feeding sites to nesting grounds, normally on sandy beaches. Mating occurs every two to four years and normally takes place in shallow waters close to the shore. To nest, females leave the sea and choose an area, often on the same beach used by their mothers, to lay their eggs. They dig a pit in the sand with their flippers, fill it with a clutch of 100 to 200 eggs, cover the pit and return to the sea, leaving the eggs to hatch after about two months. The most dangerous time of a green turtle’s life is when it makes the journey from nest to sea. Multiple predators, including crabs and flocks of gulls, voraciously prey on hatchlings during this short scamper.
Green turtles are listed as an endangered species, and a subpopulation in the Mediterranean is listed as critically endangered. Despite this, they are still killed for their meat and eggs. Their numbers are also reduced by boat propeller accidents, fishnet-caused drowning, and the destruction of their nesting grounds by human encroachment.
Careless fishing, habitat destruction, and plastic pollution have left all six sea turtle species that swim in U.S. waters threatened or endangered. For millions of years, sea turtles have been a vital part of ocean ecosystems – but today they are on the brink of extinction.
We're working to protect sea turtles and their habitats around the world, but we need your help.
Vocabulary
endoskelton= a skelton under the external surface of animal,compare exokelton.
tube feet= any of the external muscular extensions of the water vascular system of echinoderms.
ampullae= each of the muscular sacs that extend inside the body opposite the tube feet of echinoderms.
madre porites= a prous plate that connects the water vascular system of echinoderms to the exterior.
aristoties= lantern the set of jaws and associated muscle used by sea urchins to bite off food.
tube feet= any of the external muscular extensions of the water vascular system of echinoderms.
ampullae= each of the muscular sacs that extend inside the body opposite the tube feet of echinoderms.
madre porites= a prous plate that connects the water vascular system of echinoderms to the exterior.
aristoties= lantern the set of jaws and associated muscle used by sea urchins to bite off food.