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Green Turtle (Chelonia
mydas)
One of the largest and most widespread of the marine
turtles, the green turtle’s colouring varies
from olive to brown, grey and black with swirls and
irregular patterns - its name is actually derived
from the green colour of the fat and connective tissues
of the species.
Distributed throughout the tropics, green turtles
spend their lives moving between seagrass beds and
nesting beaches, sometimes travelling over 2,000
km to lay their eggs on their ancestral beach. They
are extremely long-lived, and may take as much as
60 years to reach sexual maturity. Their slow rate
of reproduction, combined with over-harvesting for
meat and eggs as well as habitat destruction has
made them an endangered species worldwide.
