What usually decides whether sea turtle hatchlings are male or female?

The age and size of the mother turtle

A mass nesting event when thousands of turtles arrive together

What guides newly hatched turtles toward the sea at night?

The brighter horizon over the water

Sea Turtle Quiz: Ancient Mariners of the Ocean

This sea turtle quiz dives into the lives of ocean turtles, from the giant leatherback and the seagrass-eating green turtle to loggerheads nesting in Florida, Costa Rica and Türkiye, the hawksbill of coral reefs, Kemp's ridley and the mass nesting called the arribada, plus the jellyfish and plastic that shape their survival.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

Species
Which is the largest species of sea turtle?
Food
What is the main food of leatherback turtles?
Nesting
Where do female sea turtles lay their eggs?
Science
What usually decides whether sea turtle hatchlings are male or female?
Diet
Adult green sea turtles are mainly herbivores. What do they eat?
Reefs
Which sea turtle, with a sharp, bird-like beak, is famous for its beautiful patterned shell?
Nesting
What is an arribada?
Rarity
Which is often called the world's most endangered sea turtle?
Hatchlings
What guides newly hatched turtles toward the sea at night?
Ages
How long have sea turtles existed on Earth?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which is the largest species of sea turtle?
Answer: The leatherback
Leatherbacks can weigh more than 500 kilograms. Instead of a hard shell, they have a leathery skin over bony plates.
Q2: What is the main food of leatherback turtles?
Answer: Jellyfish
Spines in their throats help them swallow slippery jellyfish. Plastic bags in the sea can look like jellyfish and are deadly.
Q3: Where do female sea turtles lay their eggs?
Answer: On sandy beaches
Many females return to the same beach where they hatched, sometimes decades later, guided partly by Earth's magnetic field.
Q4: What usually decides whether sea turtle hatchlings are male or female?
Answer: The temperature of the sand
Warmer nests produce more females and cooler nests more males. Rising temperatures are a concern for this reason.
Q5: Adult green sea turtles are mainly herbivores. What do they eat?
Answer: Seagrass and algae
Their diet gives their fat a greenish color, which is how they got their name.
Q6: Which sea turtle, with a sharp, bird-like beak, is famous for its beautiful patterned shell?
Answer: The hawksbill
Hawksbills feed on sponges in coral reefs. Their shells were once used to make tortoiseshell jewelry, which pushed them toward extinction.
Q7: What is an arribada?
Answer: A mass nesting event when thousands of turtles arrive together
Olive ridley and Kemp's ridley turtles nest in these huge groups. Arribada means arrival in Spanish.
Q8: Which is often called the world's most endangered sea turtle?
Answer: Kemp's ridley
Kemp's ridleys nest mainly on beaches in Mexico's Gulf coast. Conservation programs have helped them recover from very low numbers.
Q9: What guides newly hatched turtles toward the sea at night?
Answer: The brighter horizon over the water
Artificial lights on beaches can confuse hatchlings, so many coastal towns dim lights during nesting season.
Q10: How long have sea turtles existed on Earth?
Answer: More than 100 million years
Sea turtles lived alongside the dinosaurs. Today there are seven species, and most are threatened.

Sea Turtle Quiz – Ancient Travelers of the Sea

Sea turtles have roamed the oceans for more than 100 million years, swimming alongside the dinosaurs. Today, seven species live in warm and temperate seas around the world: the leatherback, green, loggerhead, hawksbill, olive ridley, Kemp's ridley and flatback. They are graceful swimmers that travel thousands of kilometers during their lives.

Each species has its own lifestyle. Leatherbacks, the largest, dive deep and feed mainly on jellyfish. Green turtles graze on seagrass and algae, keeping underwater meadows healthy. Hawksbills feed on sponges in coral reefs, and loggerheads crush crabs and shellfish with powerful jaws. Many turtles cross entire oceans between feeding and nesting areas.

Nesting is one of the most remarkable parts of a sea turtle's life. Females crawl onto sandy beaches at night, dig nests and lay around 100 eggs. The temperature of the sand decides whether the hatchlings will be male or female. Weeks later, the tiny turtles dig out and race toward the brighter horizon over the sea. Only a small number survive to adulthood.

Most sea turtle species are threatened by fishing nets, plastic pollution, coastal development, poaching and climate change. Conservation groups protect nesting beaches, rescue injured turtles and work to reduce bycatch. Beaches in places such as Florida, Costa Rica, Mexico and Türkiye's Mediterranean coast have programs to protect nests.

This quiz covers sea turtle species, behavior and conservation.

Sea turtles also play important roles in ocean ecosystems. Green turtles keep seagrass beds trimmed and healthy, which helps fish and other animals. Hawksbills feed on sponges that might otherwise crowd out corals, and leatherbacks help control jellyfish populations. Even their eggs and hatchlings feed beach plants, birds and crabs, moving nutrients from the sea to the land.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is perfect for ocean lovers, divers and young conservationists.

The seven species of sea turtles
What different turtles eat
How and where turtles nest
Why sand temperature matters
What an arribada is
The threats turtles face and how people help

Quick Facts About Sea Turtles

Unlike land turtles, sea turtles cannot pull their heads into their shells.
Sea turtles shed salty tears to get rid of extra salt.
Loggerheads nest on beaches in Türkiye, such as İztuzu near Dalyan.
Some sea turtles can hold their breath for hours while resting.
Leatherbacks can dive more than 1,000 meters deep.
Sea turtles use Earth's magnetic field to navigate.