Green sea turtle
Amazing fact
Green sea turtles have serrated jaws for tearing plants.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Green sea turtles have serrated jaws for tearing plants.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Green sea turtle
- Scientific name
- Chelonia mydas
- Japanese name
- アオウミガメ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Testudines
- Family
- Cheloniidae
- Genus
- Chelonia
Where the name “Green sea turtle” comes from
In some places it is called asahi-game because its shell’s radiating pattern resembles the morning sun.
鳥羽水族館This sea turtle mostly eats seagrass, trimming it like a living lawnmower and keeping the seagrass healthy.
The 'green' (ao) in its name refers not to its shell but to the green fat under its shell.
In Japan it nests south of Yakushima, and females usually return to lay their eggs near the beach where they hatched.
How the Green sea turtle lives
Hatchlings swim offshore after emerging from the nest. As they grow, they move to feeding grounds in shallow coastal waters. Females nest on sandy beaches at night.
NOAA FisheriesBasic data
- Range
- Tropical to temperate waters worldwide
- Conservation status in Japan
- Vulnerable (VU)Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)
Where the Green sea turtle has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- アオウミガメ
- 简体中文
- 绿蠵龟
- 繁體中文
- 綠蠵龜
- 한국어
- 푸른바다거북
- Español
- Tortuga verde
- Français
- Tortue comestible
- Deutsch
- Grüne Meeresschildkröte
- Português (Brasil)
- Tartaruga-verde
- Italiano
- Tartaruga verde
- العربية
- سلحفاة بحرية خضراء
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Penyu hijau
- Tiếng Việt
- Đồi mồi dứa
- Русский
- Зелёная черепаха
- Türkçe
- Yeşil kaplumbağa
- ไทย
- เต่าตนุ
- বাংলা
- সবুজ সাগর কাছিম
- اردو
- سبز سمندری کچھوا
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 観光庁 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース — 慶良間諸島海域のサンゴ礁の世界、漁協の魚Checked: 2026-11-03
- 鳥羽水族館 — アオウミガメChecked: 2026-11-03
- NOAA Fisheries — Green TurtleChecked: 2026-11-03
- NOAA Fisheries — Green TurtleChecked: 2026-11-05
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Chelonia mydasChecked: 2026-11-03
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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