COLDWATER SCIENCE / ANIMAL FIELD GUIDES

The seven sea-turtle species

Follow all seven living sea-turtle species through shell structures, food, nesting and habitat. Identification needs several features and a reliable observation location.

60 animal articles · Scientific references · Credited cover images

7 articles

Pastel natural-history art

Sea turtles

Green sea turtles: changing diets and life in seagrass habitats

Green sea turtles change what they eat as they grow: oceanic young take animal and plant material around floating communities, while many older juveniles and adults graze coastal algae and seagrass. Their anatomy, habitat, and scute pattern help distinguish them, with regional variation requiring care.

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A loggerhead turtle rests on sand beside low beach vegetation.

Wildlife photograph

Sea turtles

Loggerhead turtles: powerful jaws and hard-shelled prey

Loggerheads combine a large, block-like head and powerful jaws with a varied diet that includes hard-shelled invertebrates and soft prey. Their usual scute pattern and coloration aid identification, while life-stage habitat, migration, and population-specific conservation classifications call for careful interpretation.

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A hawksbill turtle swims through blue water, showing its patterned shell and flippers.

Wildlife photograph

Sea turtles

Hawksbill turtles: reef feeding and the cost of tortoiseshell

Hawksbills use a narrow beak to reach prey in reef crevices, with sponges important in many populations but not a universal menu. Their overlapping scutes and scale pattern aid identification, while historical tortoiseshell trade and continuing pressures shape the conservation story.

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Cinematic digital illustration

Sea turtles

Leatherback turtles: flexible shells and life in cold water

Leatherback turtles combine a skin-covered shell reinforced by small bones with flippers, prey-retaining mouth structures, and heat-conserving physiology. These traits support oceanic travel and feeding in cold waters, while migration patterns vary among populations.

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A small Kemp’s ridley turtle lies on pale sand while nesting.

Wildlife photograph

Sea turtles

Kemp’s ridley turtles: mass nesting and a restricted breeding range

Kemp’s ridley turtles are small sea turtles whose synchronized daytime nesting is concentrated mainly in Tamaulipas, Mexico. Their broader occurrence, including juvenile movements, differs from that breeding core, and shell traits must be read alongside geography and life stage.

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A small gray olive ridley turtle lies on sand, showing its head, shell plates and four flippers.

Wildlife photograph

Sea turtles

Olive ridley turtles: arribadas, solitary nesting and ocean travel

Olive ridley turtles combine flexible nesting behavior with broad tropical ocean distribution. Females may nest alone or in synchronized arribadas, while variable shell scute counts and post-breeding offshore movements require careful interpretation of identification and tracking evidence.

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A young flatback turtle swims above a sunlit sandy bottom, showing its pale-edged shell and flippers.

Wildlife photograph

Sea turtles

Flatback turtles: Australia’s continental-shelf sea turtle

Flatback turtles are Australian-nesting sea turtles adapted to continental-shelf and shallow coastal habitats. Their low, broad shell, soft-bodied prey, and shelf-associated early life distinguish them, while nesting season and feeding range vary by region.

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