Why is the green sea turtle called green?

Its body fat is greenish from its diet

How does green turtle grazing help seagrass meadows?

It keeps the grass short and healthy

Where do female green turtles usually nest?

On or near the beach where they hatched

What did a 2018 study of northern Great Barrier Reef turtles find?

Almost all young turtles were female

Green Sea Turtle Quiz: Seagrass Grazers of the Ocean

A diet of seagrass and algae gives this reptile greenish body fat and its common name, and this green sea turtle quiz explores how it lives. Play 10 interactive questions on Chelonia mydas, seagrass meadows, natal homing, temperature-dependent sex, Raine Island, long migrations and the Hawaiian honu.

Start Green Sea Turtle Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Name
Why is the green sea turtle called green?
Diet
What do adult green sea turtles mainly eat?
Grazing
How does green turtle grazing help seagrass meadows?
Homing
Where do female green turtles usually nest?
Sex
What decides whether green turtle eggs hatch male or female?
Raine
Which island hosts one of the largest green turtle rookeries?
Study
What did a 2018 study of northern Great Barrier Reef turtles find?
Scientific
What is the green sea turtle's scientific name?
Hawaii
What is the Hawaiian name for the green sea turtle?
Status
What is the green sea turtle's conservation status on the IUCN Red List?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Why is the green sea turtle called green?
Answer: Its body fat is greenish from its diet
Seagrass and algae give its fat a green tint.
Q2: What do adult green sea turtles mainly eat?
Answer: Seagrass and algae
Adults are largely herbivores, unlike most sea turtles.
Q3: How does green turtle grazing help seagrass meadows?
Answer: It keeps the grass short and healthy
Like mowing a lawn, grazing encourages new growth and nutrient cycling.
Q4: Where do female green turtles usually nest?
Answer: On or near the beach where they hatched
Natal homing brings them back across thousands of kilometers.
Q5: What decides whether green turtle eggs hatch male or female?
Answer: Sand temperature
Warmer nests produce more females.
Q6: Which island hosts one of the largest green turtle rookeries?
Answer: Raine Island, Australia
Tens of thousands of turtles nest on this small Great Barrier Reef island.
Q7: What did a 2018 study of northern Great Barrier Reef turtles find?
Answer: Almost all young turtles were female
Warming sand has skewed the population heavily toward females.
Q8: What is the green sea turtle's scientific name?
Answer: Chelonia mydas
Caretta caretta is the loggerhead and Dermochelys the leatherback.
Q9: What is the Hawaiian name for the green sea turtle?
Answer: Honu
Honu often bask on Hawaiian beaches.
Q10: What is the green sea turtle's conservation status on the IUCN Red List?
Answer: Endangered
Threats include habitat loss, bycatch and egg harvesting.

Green Sea Turtle Quiz – Grazers of the Seagrass

The green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, lives in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide. Adults mostly eat seagrass and algae, which tint their fat green and give the species its name.

By grazing seagrass meadows, green turtles keep them healthy, much like mowing a lawn. Females return to the beaches where they hatched to lay eggs, and the temperature of the sand determines whether hatchlings are male or female.

Raine Island on the Great Barrier Reef is one of the largest nesting sites. A 2018 study found warming sand there produces mostly females. The species is listed as endangered, and in Hawaii it is known as the honu.

What This Quiz Teaches

Ocean lovers and students will enjoy these questions.

Why it is called green
What it eats
How it chooses nesting beaches
How temperature affects hatchlings
What threatens it

Did You Know?

Green turtles can live more than 70 years.
Hatchlings head for the brightest horizon, usually the sea.
Resting turtles can stay underwater for hours.
Ascension Island is another major nesting site.
Turtle-safe lighting protects nesting beaches.