Turtles
Green Sea Turtle
Chelonia mydas · Marine reptile — family Cheloniidae
The green turtle is diving's great normalizer: on the right reef it becomes as ordinary as parrotfish, and never stops being wonderful. A big adult is a coffee-table of smooth olive shell topped by a small, gentle-jawed head built for mowing grass, trailing a wake of nibbled seagrass stubble across the lagoon floor. At Sipadan they stack along the wall like parked cars; at Marsa Alam's seagrass bays they graze beside snorkelers all day; Hawaiian greens haul out to bask on beaches, a habit almost unique to that population. Fifty years of protection have rebuilt many nesting populations — one of marine conservation's genuine success stories, still incomplete.
Waar en wanneer je er een kunt zien
"Resident" betekent dat je ze bij de meeste duiken op die bestemming tegenkomt; "seizoensgebonden" betekent betrouwbaar aanwezig in de vermelde maanden; al het andere is een bonus, geen garantie.
| Bestemming | Betrouwbaarheid | Maanden | Notities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riviera Maya & the CenotesMexico | Resident — seen on most dives | Het hele jaar door | |
| Galápagos IslandsEcuador | Resident — seen on most dives | Het hele jaar door | |
| Cairns & the Ribbon ReefsAustralia | Resident — seen on most dives | Het hele jaar door | |
| Sipadan & MabulMalaysia | Resident — seen on most dives | Het hele jaar door | |
| Kona, HawaiʻiUnited States | Resident — seen on most dives | Het hele jaar door | |
| Marsa Alam & the Deep SouthEgypt | Resident — seen on most dives | Het hele jaar door |
Beste maand, in één oogopslag
Ze begrijpen
Habitat: Seagrass meadows, algae-covered reef flats, and lagoons; sleeps under reef ledges and migrates long distances to natal nesting beaches
Verspreidingsgebied: Circumglobal in tropical and subtropical seas, with major populations in the Caribbean, Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Coral Triangle, Pacific islands, and Australia
Gedrag: A placid grazer that crops seagrass in slow, methodical mouthfuls, surfaces in a leisurely arc to breathe, and wedges beneath the same ledges night after night. Where protected and habituated, as at Sipadan or Hawaii, it treats divers as scenery and continues feeding at arm's length.
Dieet: Adults graze seagrass and algae — the diet that greens their fat and names the species; juveniles are more omnivorous
Grootte: doorgaans rond 1.0 m; gedocumenteerd tot 1.2 m (carapace length; large adults weigh 150–200 kg).
Hoe je je ertegenover gedraagt
No touching or riding — illegal in most range states — keep hands off resting turtles, never block one's path to the surface to breathe, and give nesting beaches and mating pairs wide berth. Flash restrictions apply at many sites.
Behoud
Endangered globally, though many index nesting populations are climbing after decades of beach protection and harvest bans; boat strikes, net bycatch, and warming-skewed hatchling sex ratios are the live threats.
Gekende duiksites waar je ze tegenkomt
Bekijk
Via de officiële kanalen
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Outrageously Tiny Fish
Sink or Swim? with Monét X Change | Monterey Bay Aquarium
Video's zijn ingesloten links naar de kanalen van de makers zelf — wij hosten niets en vermelden altijd de bron.