Marine Life Protectors

  Sea Turtles

  An overview about the seven species of sea turtles      > Click on picture or map to see enlarged view!

Picture Distribution Map Common & Scientific Name Habitat
(age dependent)
Conservation Status (IUCN) Link to Wikipedia
Leatherback
Dermochelys coriacea
Open ocean Overall status: Vulnerable
Four subpopulations are listed as critically endangered:
East Pacific, West Pacific
Southwest Indian Ocean, Southwest Atlantic
Leatherback on Wiki
Loggerhead
Caretta caretta
Open ocean, various habitats in shallow coastal waters including rocky shores Vulnerable Loggerhead on Wiki
Green Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas
Shallow waters,
juveniles in and around coral reefs, adults in algae covered areas or seagrass meadows
Endangered Green Turtle on Wiki

See *annotation below table!

Hawksbill
Eretmochelys imbricata
Shallow lagoons, coral reefs Critically Endangered Hawksbill on Wiki
Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
Lepidochelys olivacea
Open ocean Vulnerable Olive Ridley on Wiki
Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle
Lepidochelys kempii
Open ocean, various habitats in shallow coastal waters Critically Endangered Kemp's Ridley on Wiki
Flatback
Natator depressus
Prefers shallow, soft-bottomed tropical and subtropical waters, sea grass meadows, estuaries Unknown/Data Deficient
Protected under CITES in Australia
Flatback on Wiki

*Hawksbill distribution map: Confirmed sightings in the Mediterranean Sea are extremely rare, please read the following article: Hawksbill Turtles in the Mediterranean Sea (Marine Turtle Newsletter; Laboratoire Reptiles et Amphibiens, Museum national d'Histoire naturelle; Paris; 1991)
For this reason we have given the Mediterranean Sea a different colour than that shown in the Wikipedia map and placed a question mark there.
Additionally we have changed the colour of the Black Sea to white, records of confirmed sightings of hawksbills in the Black Sea don't exist to our knowledge.

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