Green Sea Turtle

Green sea turtle carapace illustration: M. Demma © ICRAM

Chelonia mydas

Diagnostic features:

• Carapace oval shaped in dorsal view, its width approximately 90% of its length.
• Head relatively short and blunt - approximately 20% of Carapace length
• Tomium of lower jaw has sharply serrated rim corresponding to strong ridges on the inner surface of the upper tomium.
• The carapacial scutes are thin, smooth and flexible when removed.
• Five central scutes, low keeled in juveniles, but lacking a median keel in adults and sub adults.
• Each flipper has one visible claw.
• Colour:
  

  On the upper side, the colour can vary from pale to dark and from plain colour to vivid combinations of yellow, brown and green. These may form radiated stripes or a blotch effect.

  The Pacific populations (namely Chelonia mydas japonica) are more melanistic than the Atlantic ones (Chelonia mydas mydas) and easily confused with the Black turtle (Chelonia agassizii). Recent genetic studies by Bowen and Karl in Lutz & Musick suggest that C.agassizii is not a separate species to C.Mydas.

  The underside in Atlantic forms is plain white through to a yellowish white. Pacific populations have a dark grey, blue or blue/green underside.

  Juveniles have a yellow border to scales on the head and upper side of flippers.

  Hatchlings are dark brown/black. The rear edges of the flippers and the rim of the carapace is white. Underneath they are white.