It is listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. Named for its large head, which can be ten inches wide, it has powerful jaws to crush the heavy-shelled clams, crabs and encrusting animals on which it feeds. The green turtle, named for the greenish color of its body fat, is listed as endangered in Florida. 500 to 2000 nests are recorded in Florida each year. Hunting and egg gathering have reduced their number greatly.
Green turtles are the only sea turtles that eat plants.
They graze on the vast beds of sea grasses found throughout the tropics. Some populations travel over a thousand miles over open ocean to nest on islands in the mid-Atlantic. The endangered leatherback turtle is the largest and most active of the sea turtles. They travel thousands of miles, dive thousands of feet deep, and venture into much colder water than any other kind of sea turtle. Up to eight feet in length, these huge turtles have a rubbery dark shell marked by seven narrow ridges that extend the length of the back.