Green Turtle in the Great Barrier Reef

Common Name: Green Turtle
Family: Chelonia mydas

The green turtle is named for the greenish colour of its body fat. Hatchlings are dark but adults have a smooth, olive brown shell marked with darker streaks and spots. The bottom shell is white or yellowish and each paddle shaped flipper usually has one claw. Green turtles can be distinguished from most other sea turtles by the single pair of scales on the front of the head.

Hatchling green turtles are carnivorous; juveniles and young adults eat many things including man-o-war and jellyfish. When green turtles reach 20 to 25 centimetres (8 to 10 inches) in shell length, however, they begin feeding on algae or sea grass on shallow flats. No one knows how old the turtles are when this occurs. Adult green turtles are unique among sea turtles in being plant eaters.

The vast beds of sea grass found throughout the tropics serve as pastures for green turtles. Sea grass is high in fibre and low in protein. As an adaptation to this diet, green turtles maintain "grazing plots" of young leaves by feeding repeatedly in the same area. By eating young plants in the grazing plots, green turtles can avoid older leaves that are higher in fibre, and thus increase the percentage of protein in their diet.

Interesting Facts about Green Turtles:

Turtles excrete salt absorbed in sea water from their eyes, which is why they seem to cry.

Some female turtles produce eggs four years after mating.

All chelonian turtles lay their eggs on land, even the marine turtles.

The green turtle can stay under water for over five hours without coming up for air.

Once a male turtle hatches and enters the ocean, it will probably not step on land again.

When in danger the green turtle can swim almost 20 miles an hour to escape.

When in the eggs, turtles take about 2 months to incubate and their sex is determined by the temperature. Under 29 degrees they become male, over 29 degrees they become female.

Female turtles mate with several males in the ocean and store the sperm inside them, so a single nest may hold babies from various fathers.

Only one out of one thousand turtles survive after hatching.

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