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Green Sea Turtle

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Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) images & facts - this gallery showcases the beauty and gracefulness of the green sea turtle, providing some of the best stock photos and illustrations you can find of this revered animal. The green sea turtle is a large sea turtle with a weight of 175-485 lbs and a carapace length between 30-47 inches. The coloring of green sea turtles varies between olive, brown, and black. The underside, or plastron, ranges in color from yellow to olive-gray. Green sea turtles have one claw on each front flipper, and one pair of prefrontal scales. They have four pairs of lateral scutes.

Conservation status | Endangered
Scientific Classification | Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Subphylum: Vertebrata > Class: Reptilia > Order: Testudines > Suborder: Cryptodia > Superfamily: Chelonioidea > Family: Cheloniidae > Genus: Chelonia > Species: C. mydas
Binomial name | Chelonia mydas
Synonyms | Chelonia mydas agassizii, Chelonia mydas agassizi, Chelonia mydas agassisi, etc.

Green sea turtles are mainly found in tropical and subtropical waters throughout the world, and sightings have been recorded in 140 countries. Important feeding areas are the coasts of Nicaragua, Brazil, Oman, Vanuatu, Fiji, Japan, Baja California, and the Pacific coast of South America. Nesting areas are more strictly confined to 20 degrees north and south of the equator. Green sea turtles are generally migratory, but the individuals found in Hawaii and the Galapagos spend their entire life cycles near their place of birth. While most sea turtles only go ashore to nest, green sea turtles are known to bask on sandy beaches, both during the day and at night.

The diet of green sea turtles varies as they progress from juvenile to adult. As pelagic phase juveniles, they subsist mainly on jellyfish and other soft-bodied invertebrates. As adults, they become vegetarian, subsisting mainly on seagrasses and algae.

Like most sea turtles, green sea turtles travel great distances - over a thousand miles - from feeding grounds to the beaches they were born. Females lay their eggs at night in clutches of 110-115 eggs. Eight or nine clutches per breeding season are laid at intervals of two weeks, and incubation lasts 55 to 60 days. Full maturity is reached at the advanced age of 20 to 50 years.

Green sea turtles face degradation of habitat, harvesting of their eggs, capture in fishing nets, and death by predators. The IUCN lists the green sea turtle as Endangered. While their nesting sites are currently protected in many parts of the world, green sea turtles are subject to other dangers that may be difficult to protect against. They are known to suffer from a tumor-like disease called fibropapilloma, which causes wart-like growths to appear on their skin, particularly around their eyes. These growths impede eyesight and movement, making it more difficult for them to survive.
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