Green sea turtle
Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758)
LCLeast Concernturtles and tortoises
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, belonging to the family Cheloniidae in the order Testudines. It is a large reptile with an adult body mass of 144 kg, and our sources report adult weights from 128.1 to 160 kg.
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Quick facts about the green sea turtle
It lays a clutch of 112.5 eggs at a rate of 1.03 clutches per year, the eggs incubate for 59 days, and sexual maturity comes at 10 years, with values up to 40 years reported. Its lifespan is given as 75 years, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 128.1 kg – 160 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 1.5 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 75 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Omnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 59 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 85 – 200src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 9.99 years – 40 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1.03src for Litters or clutches a year
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the green sea turtle
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the green sea turtle live?
Not recorded
What is the green sea turtle?
The green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), also known as the green turtle, black sea turtle, and Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, due to its diet strictly being seagrass, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black.
The dorsoventrally flattened body of C. mydas is covered by a large, teardrop-shaped carapace; it has a pair of large, paddle-like flippers. It is usually lightly colored, although in the eastern Pacific populations, parts of the carapace can be almost black. Unlike other members of its family, such as the hawksbill sea turtle, C. mydas is mostly herbivorous. The adults usually inhabit shallow lagoons, feeding mostly on various species of seagrasses. The green sea turtle is the only aquatic turtle species which is herbivorous when fully grown.
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 90 years in the wild.
C. mydas was listed as endangered by the IUCN and CITES until 2025 and is protected from exploitation in most countries. It is illegal to collect, harm, or kill them. In addition, many countries have laws and ordinances to protect nesting areas. However, turtles are still in danger due to human activity. In some countries, turtles and their eggs are still hunted for food. Pollution indirectly harms turtles at both population and individual scales. Many turtles die after being caught in fishing nets. In addition, real estate development often causes habitat loss by eliminating nesting beaches.
From the Wikipedia article “Green sea turtle” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Green_sea_turtle&oldid=1382050966), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the green sea turtle sound like?
Is the green sea turtle endangered?
The green sea turtle is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the green sea turtle classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderTestudines
- familyCheloniidae
- genusChelonia
- SpeciesChelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Caretta cepedii, Caretta esculenta, Caretta thunbergi, Chelonia agassizi, Chelonia agassizii, Chelonia albiventer, Chelonia bicarinata, Chelonia castanea, Chelonia formosa, Chelonia grisea, Chelonia japonica, Chelonia lachrymata, Chelonia lata, Chelonia maculata, Chelonia maculosa, Chelonia marmorata, Chelonia midas, Chelonia mydas agassizi, Chelonia mydas carrinegra, Chelonia mydas japonica, Chelonia mydas mydas, Chelonia picta, Chelonia tenius, Chelonia tenuis, Chelonia virgata, Chelonia viridis, Euchelus macropus, Mydas viridis, Natator tessellatus, Testudo cepediana, Testudo chloronotus, Testudo japonica, Testudo macropus, Testudo macropus, Testudo marina vulgaris, Testudo mydas, Testudo rugosa, Testudo rugosa, Testudo viridis
Other names and names in other languages (128)
- Atlantic green sea turtleEnglish
- Black turtleEnglish
- Common green sea turtleEnglish
- Common green turtleEnglish
- Green turtleEnglish
- Green turtleEnglish
- Green turtleEnglish
- Green turtleEnglish
- Pacific black sea turtleEnglish
- Pacific green sea turtleEnglish
- West Pacific green sea turtleEnglish
- Groen SeeskilpadAfrikaans
- سلحفاة خضراءArabic
- الخضراء السلحفاةArabic
- سلحفاة البحر الخضراءArabic
- سلحفاة بحرية خضراءArabic
- Salihufat albahr alkhadra'Arabic
- KapeesBaluchi
- Зелена морска костенуркаBulgarian
- zelenа morskа kostenurkаBulgarian
- Tortuga VerdaCatalan
- HagganChamorro
- kareta obrovská japonskáCzech
- kareta obrovskáCzech
- kareta obrovská atlantskáCzech
- kareta obrovská tichomořskáCzech
- crwban môr gwyrddWelsh
- Crwbanod Môr GwyrddWelsh
- grøn havskildpaddeDanish
- SuppenschildkröteGerman
- Grüne MeeresschildkröteGerman
- πράσινη χελώναGreek
- Πράσινη θαλασσοχελώναGreek
- CaguamaSpanish
- Tortuga BlancaSpanish
- Tortuga Blanca de MarSpanish
- Tortuga NegraSpanish
- Tortuga PrietaSpanish
- Tortuga Prieta de Pacifico OesteSpanish
- Tortuga Prieta del AtlanticoSpanish
- Tortuga Prieta del PacificoSpanish
- tortuga verdeSpanish
- Tortuga-marina verde-del AtlánticoSpanish
- liemikilpikonnaFinnish
- Vonu DinaFijian
- tortue verteFrench
- Tortue comestibleFrench
- tortue francheFrench
- turtar glasScottish Gaelic
- turtanan glasScottish Gaelic
- צב ים ירוקHebrew
- צב-ים ירוקHebrew
- Tzav yam yarokHebrew
- zelena želvaCroatian
- Golema želvaCroatian
- Zelena kornjačaCroatian
- közönséges levesteknősHungarian
- Penyu HijauIndonesian
- tartaruga verdeItalian
- アオウミガメJapanese
- クロウミガメJapanese
- Ao umigameJapanese
- 바다거북Korean
- žaliasis vėžlysLithuanian
- Fano OmbyMalagasy
- Fano ZatyMalagasy
- HonuMāori
- SuppeskilpaddeNorwegian Bokmål
- Grønn HavskilpaddeNorwegian Bokmål
- soepschildpadDutch
- groene zeeschildpadDutch
- TortugaPapiamento
- Tortuga blankuPapiamento
- Tortuka blankuPapiamento
- TurtugaPapiamento
- Turtuka blankuPapiamento
- MelobPalauan
- żółw jadalnyPolish
- żółw zielonyPolish
- AruanãPortuguese
- DepeiaPortuguese
- Falso-CareiPortuguese
- JerebaPortuguese
- SuçuaranaPortuguese
- Tartaruga-ApedrêsPortuguese
- tartaruga-aruanãPortuguese
- Tartaruga-de-SopaPortuguese
- Tartaruga-do-MarPortuguese
- Tartaruga-MarinhaPortuguese
- Tartaruga-Marinha-ComumPortuguese
- Tartaruga-PedrêsPortuguese
- Tartaruga-VerdePortuguese
- UruanãPortuguese
- Зелёная черепахаRussian
- Суповая черепахаRussian
- moosniSeri
- Gal KasbawaSinhala
- Kola KasbawaSinhala
- Weli KasbawaSinhala
- orjaška črepahaSlovenian
- Breshkë e gjelbërAlbanian
- breshka e gjelbërt e detitAlbanian
- Зелена морска корњачаSerbian
- Zelena morska kornjačaSerbian
- NyambaSwahili
- Pera AmaiTamil
- Pachchai AmaiTamil
- เต่าตนุThai
- PawikanFilipino
- yesil kaplumbagaTurkish
- Çorba KaplumbağasıTurkish
- yeşil deniz kaplumbağasıTurkish
- yeşil kaplumbağaTurkish
- Зелена черепахаUkrainian
- Морська черепаха зеленаUkrainian
- Черепаха морська зеленаUkrainian
- Black Sea Turtleroot
- Schwarze Suppenschildkröteroot
- Sabz KachwaUrdu
- ufudo lelwandleXhosa
- 海龜Chinese
- 石龜Chinese
- 綠海龜Chinese
- 綠蠵龜Chinese
- 绿海龟Chinese
- 菜龜Chinese
- 黑龜Chinese
- ufudu IwasolwandleZulu
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the green sea turtle
Other species in the same family Cheloniidae.
Loggerhead sea turtle
Caretta caretta
Hawksbill sea turtle
Eretmochelys imbricata
Olive ridley sea turtle
Lepidochelys olivacea
Kemp's ridley sea turtle
Lepidochelys kempii
Flatback sea turtle
Natator depressus
CompareGreen sea turtle vs Loggerhead sea turtleGreen sea turtle vs Hawksbill sea turtleGreen sea turtle vs Olive ridley sea turtleGreen sea turtle vs Kemp's ridley sea turtle
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
How heavy is a green sea turtle?
An adult green sea turtle weighs 144 kg, and our sources report adult weights from 128.1 to 160 kg.
How long does a green sea turtle live?
The green sea turtle has a lifespan of 75 years.
What kind of animal is the green sea turtle?
The green sea turtle is a reptile in the turtles and tortoises subgroup, placed in the family Cheloniidae and superfamily Chelonioidea.
How many eggs does a green sea turtle lay?
A green sea turtle lays 112.5 eggs per clutch, with 1.03 clutches per year. The eggs incubate for 59 days.
When does a green sea turtle reach sexual maturity?
A green sea turtle reaches sexual maturity at 10 years, and our sources report values up to 40 years.
Who named the green sea turtle?
The green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles · CC BY 4.0 · v1-2
Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-sea-turtle
“Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-sea-turtle.
@misc{green_sea_turtle_2026,
title = {Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-sea-turtle},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}