| Species fact sheet | by Global Register of Migratory Species - www.groms.de |
| Use the GROMS database for dynamic search for migratory species, new links and references. |
| Chelonia mydas | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Synonym: | |
| Family: | Cheloniidae |
| Order: | Testudines |
| English: | Green turtle |
| French: | Tortue verte |
| Spanish: | Tortuga verde |
| German: | Pazifische Suppenschildkröte (There's a German version of this page!) |
| Norwegian: | Suppeskilpadde (There's a Norwegian version of this page!) |
| Migration: | interoceanic |
| Regions: | [...] |
| CMS: | App I & II |
| CITES: | I |
| RL1996: | EN |
| RL2000: | EN (mediterranean subpopulation: CR) |
“The green turtle is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical waters (green area on map). It prefers nesting beaches with summer temperatures above 25° C. This herbivorous species is closely associated with seagrass habitats, which are threatened by pesticides and sediment loads from agricultural land use, especially at the downstream end of heavily modified catchments (Long et al. 2000).
The black turtle, a subspecies from the eastern tropical Pacific, has been described as a separate species (Chelonia agassizii Bocouri, 1868). The IUCN recognizes it neither as a species nor as a subspecies, but separates the Mediterranean subpopulation, which has shrunk to c. 500 adult females and therefore been upclassed as "Critically Endangered" (CR) (Hilton-Taylor 2000). Though the exploitation by humans for "turtle soup" has ceased in the Mediterranean, they are severely threatened by beach erosion, agriculture, light and water pollution, plastic litter and bycatch (Poland 2001). In recent years, a life-threatening virus disease known as green turtle fibropapilloma poses an additional risk (Lu et al. 2000).”
Riede, K. (2001): Global Register of Migratory Species. Weltregister wandernder Tierarten. Münster (Landwirtschaftsverlag), S. 263
| Further detailed information | from the GROMS database concerning Chelonia mydas |
| More | about reptiles general in: Riede, K. (2001): Global Register of Migratory Species. Weltregister wandernder Tierarten. (S. 86-89) |
| Recommended link(s): | (on the german or norwegian equivalent page regarding Chelonia mydas there may be further links!) |
| ARKive | Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas): description, pictures, movies... |
| www.euroturtle.org | — joint project between MEDASSET – The Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles, Exeter University and King’s College (Taunton), UK Distribution and population estimates for the Green Sea Turtle – Chelonia mydas |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations — Fisheries and Aquaculture Department |
| Wikipedia | |
| Caribbean Conservation Corporation & Sea Turtle Survival League | "Scientists Publish Good News for Green Turtles Long-Term Nesting Beach Protection Works" |
| Animal Diversity Web | University of Michigan - Museum of Zoology |
| www.earlham.edu | Green Sea Turtle — Introduction |
| www.turtles.org | The Atlantic Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) |
| www.nmfs.noaa.gov | NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (federal agency, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce) |
| www.fws.gov | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |
| www.iucnredlist.org | The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species – Species Information: Green turtle Chelonia mydas |
| http://br.geocities.com/erichpanda | Tartarugas Marinhas do Brasil — Chelonia mydas (in Brazilian) |
| http://www.unincca.edu.co | Universidad INCCA de Colombia — picture and text on Chelonia mydas in English or in Spanish (more extensive) |
To gather more information about reptiles in general see the link collection at connotea.org: reptilia
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Feedback: mail to: Klaus Riede
by Ansgar Tappenhölter