Reptiles of North Carolina

Scientific Name:	Common Name:		Family (Alpha):

NC Records
Cheloniidae Members:
Chelonia mydas - Green Sea Turtle

Photo: B. Fleming

Photo: Randy Newman, Paul Branch

Taxonomy

Class: Reptilia

Order: Testudines

Family: Cheloniidae


Taxonomic Comments: Chelonia is currently considered monotyipic by the SSAR (2016)
Species Comments: The Black Sea Turtle (Chelonia agassizii) of the Pacific is recognized as a separate species in some accounts (see lengthy discussion in Ernst and Lovich, 2009). Only the Green Sea Turtle (C. mydas) occurs in the Atlantic and, consequently, North Carolina.

Identification

Basis for Records: A good quality photograph showing details of the the head is usually sufficient to identify this species.

Field Marks: A large sea turtle with brownish, bluish or purplish-gray scutes, some with brownish or yellowish streaks or shadings. The plastron and undersides of the body, neck, and chin are white. Pale lines also outline the dark scutes on the head and flippers.

Morphological Features: The carapace has four pairs of pleural scutes, the first two do not touch the cervicals (Palmer and Braswell, 1995). The head has a single pair of pre-frontals and the lower jaw is serrated.

Technical Reference: Palmer and Braswell (1995); Ernst and Lovich (2009)

Field Guide Descriptions: Beane et al. (2010); Powell et al. (2016)

Online Photos: Google iNaturalist GBIF

Distribution in North Carolina

Distribution Comments: This species has been recorded as far north as Dare County in North Carolina. In addition to records from the beaches along the outer coast, where this species occasionally nests, there are a number of records from the sounds, particularly Pamlico Sound.
Distribution Reference: Palmer and Braswell (1995); NCMNS Herpetology Collection Database (accessed 2023-01)
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.

Key Habitat Requirements

Biotic Relationships: Adults are more herbivorous than other sea turtles. They feed extensively on sea grasses, including Eelgrasses (Vallisneria and Zostera species) in North Carolina, and also a number of algae species including Sargassum and Sea Lettuce (see Ernst and Lovich, 2009, for a long compilation of records). Juveniles are more omnivorous, feeding on a number of species of invertebrates as well as plants. In North Carolina, juveniles are often found in the sounds in association with sea grass beds, where they may be feeding on both invertebrates and plants.

Nest predators include ghost crabs and a number of other invertebrates; raccoons, opossums, and other mammalian carnivores, as well as vultures and other species of birds (Ernst and Lovich, 2009). These same species, along with many others, also prey on emerging hatchlings. When they reach the water, they are further preyed upon by dolphins and many species of fish. Adults are attacked by sharks and other large fish. Humans, however, have been the major source of mortality for both eggs and adults.

Life History and Autecology

Aquatic Life History: Most of the Green Sea Turtles recorded in North Carolina are juveniles, with our inshore waters providing an important developmental area (Epperly et al., 1995). Individuals move offshore into warmer waters in the winter (Willard et al., 2017). As they mature, they eventually move south into their breeding grounds in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, with a very few nesting along the North Carolina coast.

Terrestrial Life History: Sea turtles come ashore to nest but otherwise spend their lives in the water (Pacific populations are known to bask out of the water but this behavior appears to be confined to that region; in our area basking is done while floating in the water. Ernst and Lovich, 2009).

General Ecology

Adverse Environmental Impacts

Interactions with Humans: This species has long been used for food by humans, both as eggs and adults. Green Sea Turtles were considered particularly delictable in the form of turtle soup. This form of exploitation is now illegal in this country under the federal Endangered Species Act. However, there is still significant mortality due to human activity in the form of turtles becoming inadvertently captured in fishing gear, in collisions with boats, and in disturbance of nesting beaches due to development and recreational uses.

Status in North Carolina

NHP State Rank: S1B

Global Rank: G3

Status in North Carolina: T

Global Status: T

Stewardship: The massive impacts due to human activity have been offset to some extent by including turtle excluders in trawling nets, by protecting nests and head-starting programs aimed at increasing the number of hatchlings reaching the sea, and by rescue of cold-stunned individuals and others that become stranded but are still able to recover.

Photo Gallery for Chelonia mydas - Green Sea Turtle		14 photos are shown.
	Recorded by: R. Newman Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: B. Fleming Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: B. Fleming Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: B. Fleming Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: B. Fleming Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: R. Newman; P. Terry Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: K. Womble New Hanover Co. Comment:	Recorded by: K. Womble New Hanover Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Newman, Randy; Newman, Hunter; Newman, Garrett Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Newman, Randy & Branch, Paul Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Newman, Randy & Branch, Paul Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Newman, Randy & Fullwood, John Carteret Co. Comment:
	Recorded by: Newman, Randy & Fullwood, John Carteret Co. Comment:	Recorded by: Newman, Randy & Fullwood, John Carteret Co. Comment:

Chelonia mydas - Green Sea Turtle

Photo Gallery for Chelonia mydas - Green Sea Turtle

14 photos are shown.