Green Sea Turtle

Snapshot

A hard-shelled sea turtle with a comparatively small head and serrated lower jaw — adults often olive to brown; named for greenish body fat. Adults typically about 3–4 feet and 250–400 lb (FWS/NOAA). Forages in seagrass; uncommon nester on Georgia beaches relative to loggerheads. Federally Threatened (North Atlantic DPS).

Description and identification

Hard shell; one pair of prefrontal scales between the eyes; usually four costal scutes per side (first does not border the nuchal); single-clawed flippers; heart-shaped carapace. Adults smoother/olive to brown with mottling versus loggerhead’s huge reddish head. Hatchlings generally black above with white plastron margins. Serrated lower jaw helps crop seagrasses. (SREL page under construction — ID from FWS/NOAA comparative characters.)

Look-alikes

Loggerhead — much larger reddish head, first costal touches nuchal, five+ costals, two claws. Hawksbill — overlapping scutes, hawk beak, two prefrontal pairs. Leatherback — ridged leatherback shell without hard scutes.

Range in Georgia

Circumglobal in tropical and subtropical seas across multiple ESA DPSs. Georgia waters see foraging and migrating North Atlantic DPS animals; nesting on GA beaches is uncommon versus loggerhead but any nest is significant.

Habitat preferences

Neritic foraging over seagrasses and algae; open-ocean juveniles; tropical and subtropical nesting beaches primarily. Coastal Georgia provides foraging and occasional nesting habitat rather than a major rookery. Seagrass health and quiet nesting beaches are the practical conservation levers.

Natural history

Long-lived (often estimated 70+ years). Adults largely herbivorous on seagrasses and algae after an omnivorous oceanic juvenile stage. Females nest at night on sloping beaches with low disturbance; multiple clutches per season are typical, with clutch sizes often roughly 80–150 eggs and incubation about 45–75 days (temperature-dependent sex). Nesting is generally less frequent on Georgia beaches than loggerheads — any nest is significant and should be reported, not disturbed.

Food preferences

Adults: seagrasses and algae. Juveniles: more omnivorous in oceanic stages before shifting toward plant diets in neritic habitats.

Temperament and encounters

ESA-protected — same beach rules as other sea turtles. Report nests and strandings; never dig or shine lights.

Conservation and legal notes

ESA Threatened — North Atlantic Distinct Population Segment (DPS) (Georgia-relevant population). Other green-turtle DPSs elsewhere are Threatened or Endangered — cite the North Atlantic DPS for Georgia. Threats include bycatch, vessel strikes, habitat loss, harvest in some regions, and health issues in some populations (no pathogen names here). Report nests and strandings via Georgia channels.

All sea turtles in U.S. waters are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act. It is illegal to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect them, or to disturb nests. Report strandings and nesting activity through current Georgia DNR / USFWS channels. Do not invent statutes. Beach lighting, coastal development, bycatch, and marine debris remain major threats. Educational observation from a distance is the default.

If you meet one

Watch from a respectful distance on the beach or from shore. Never approach nesting females, hatchlings, or nests; never shine lights at turtles; never dig in marked or unmarked nest areas. If you find a stranded, injured, or dead sea turtle, report it through current Georgia DNR / stranding-network contacts rather than attempting rescue yourself. This profile is educational, not a husbandry or collecting guide.