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GREEN TURTLES (Chelonia mydas) live throughout the region, preferring tropical and sub-tropical waters. Named after the green colour of their body fat, they digest algae and sea grass very efficiently.
Photo: Nicolas Pilcher |
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HAWKSBILL TURTLES (Eretmochelys imbricata) are abundant in the tropics, where they eat poisonous sponges and help to keep coral reefs healthy. Their numbers have fallen due to hunting for their distinctive ‘tortoise shell’, leading to a strict international trade ban.
Photo: Asghar Mobaraki |
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LEATHERBACK TURTLES (Dermochelys coriacea) are among the largest living reptiles on Earth, growing up to a tonne. Exceptionally, they have tough, rubbery skin rather than a hard shell like other turtles. Though this species was once common, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and South Africa are now among its last refuges in the Indian Ocean. Photo: Kartik Shanker
--> NEW! Link to IOSEA Species Assessment
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OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLES (Lepidochelys olivacea) are famous for their regular nesting on Indian
beaches in huge groups called ‘arribadas’. Many
tens of thousands of these small turtles may nest
on a single beach in just a few days, though large
numbers also perish in fishing nets every year.
Photo: Kartik Shanker |
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LOGGERHEAD TURTLES (Caretta caretta) can
crush enormous mollusks with their powerful
jaws. Preferring temperate waters, loggerheads
can travel impressive distances. Individual turtles
are known to have crossed the 12,000-km wide
Pacific Ocean – from Japan to feeding grounds in
Mexico – returning years later to breed and nest.
Photo: Colin Limpus |
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FLATBACK TURTLES (Natator depressus) are
found only on the Australian continental shelf,
Irian Jaya and the Gulf of Papua. Unlike other
marine turtles, they do not undertake lengthy
migrations. This narrow distribution places them
at risk of habitat change and over-exploitation.
Photo: Chloe Schauble
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