The green sea turtle is not named for its shell. It is named for its fat, which is greenish — and that color is thought to come from what adult green turtles eat. They are herbivores, living only on plants such as seagrasses and algae.
A green turtle swimming underwater. Credit: NOAA.
Three habitats in one life
Green turtles use three main kinds of habitat over their lives:
| Stage | Habitat |
|---|---|
| Nesting | beaches |
| Juveniles | convergence zones in the open ocean |
| Adults | coastal areas, where they feed on the bottom |
Where to find them in U.S. waters
- Atlantic and Gulf of America: inshore and nearshore waters from Texas to Massachusetts, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
- Eastern North Pacific: sighted from Baja California to southern Alaska, but most often seen south of San Diego.
- Central Pacific: around most tropical islands, including the Hawaiian Islands.
What threatens them
The main cause of the green turtle's historical decline around the world was the long-term harvest of eggs, juveniles and adults from their nesting beaches and feeding grounds. That harvest still goes on in some parts of the world, undermining efforts to bring the species back.
Other threats remain too. Green turtles are caught accidentally in fishing gear, an ongoing problem that affects many other marine species as well. And in some parts of the world they suffer from a disease called fibropapillomatosis.
Sources
Based on "What makes the green turtle...green?" from NOAA's National Ocean Service, a work of the United States government in the public domain.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from oceanservice.noaa.gov
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