Green Turtle | The Grass Eaters of the Sea

The Green Turtle, or Chelonia mydas is large, and very mobile sea creature. It can live in waters were the water is above freezing, and has been spotted as far up as Boston, to as far south as South Brazil. The Green Turtle can not live in the cold waters, as it will get shocked, and then perish. So, the Green Turtle tries to stay in warm waters, mostly around the equator. This turtle is usually a degree or two warmer than the water around her, and is a very receptive solar warmer, with the enormous shell that this turtle totes around.

The Green Turtle has been made into a turtle soup, and that is the reason for its name. The Green Turtle does not have a green exterior, but does have green muscle, and the meat is green in color. Even with farming and ecological hunting methods, the many people who eat this turtle have diminished its population severely. As the Green Turtle can live up to 59 years of age, and can only reach sexual maturity at around 30-40 years of age. The female Green Turtle can have around 1,000 to 2,000 hatched Green Turtles, and of those, many do not make it to the sea.

The young Green Turtle will often stay close to the nesting areas, or coastal sea areas, and are very much home bodies. They can take 20 years or more before they end up venturing out into the depths of the sea. They eat a variety of plants and are very adaptable in their diet. They eat sea grass,algae, jellyfish when they are larger and older, and sometimes sponges in the coral beds.