Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Reptilia > Order: Testudines > Family: Cheloniidae > Genus: Chelonia > Species: Chelonia mydas

Green turtle - Chelonia mydas (Linnaeus, 1758)

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Quick facts

Threat status Europe	Not evaluated (IUCN)
EU conservation status by biogeographical region	Marine Atlantic - Unfavourable-Bad
	Marine Macaronesian - Unknown
	Marine Mediterranean - Unfavourable-Bad
Protected by	EU Habitats Directive and 7 other international agreements
Natura 2000 sites	13 are designated for this species
Most preferred habitats	coastal shelf
Natura 2000 species code	1227

Distribution

The distribution map is currently disabled. A new map solution will soon become available. In the meantime, please consult other species distribution map providers listed in the Other resources panel below.

Threat and conservation status

IUCN Red List status of threatened species

The IUCN Red List threat status assesses the risk of extinction.

World

Endangered

Europe

Not evaluated

IUCN Red List Category

Not Evaluated	Near Threatened	Regionally Extinct
Not Applicable	Vulnerable	Extinct in the Wild
Data Deficient	Endangered	Extinct
Least Concern	Critically Endangered

Sources:

EU conservation status

Conservation status assesses every six years and for each biogeographical region the condition of habitats and species compared to the favourable status as described in the Habitats Directive. The map shows the 2007-2012 assessments as reported by EU Member State. Assessments are further detailed in the summary document available behind the link below.

Favourable: the species is viable and maintaining itself on a long-term basis, its natural range is not reduced, and it has a sufficient large habitat.
Unfavourable-Inadequate: the species is not as critical as being unfavourable-bad, but still requires significant conservation and restoration measure to make it viable in the long-term, or to enlarged its current range, or to improve the quality and availability of its habitat.
Unfavourable-Bad: the species is either not maintaining itself on a long-term basis and is not viable, or its natural range as been or is being drastically reduced, or its habitat is largely insufficient; the species requires major conservation and restoration measures.
Unknown: the information available for the species is scarce and does not allow a proper assessment of its conservation status.

Sources:

Full table details

Conservation status (2007-2012) of species (Habitats Directive, Article 17) by EU Member State:

country	region	conclusion
Cyprus	Marine Mediterranean	Unfavourable-Bad
France	Marine Atlantic	Unfavourable-Bad
France	Marine Mediterranean	Unknown
Greece	Marine Mediterranean	Unfavourable-Bad
Italy	Marine Mediterranean	Unknown
Spain	Marine Atlantic	Unknown
Spain	Marine Macaronesian	Unknown
Spain	Marine Mediterranean	Unknown
United Kingdom	Marine Atlantic	Unknown
United Kingdom	Marine Mediterranean	Unfavourable-Inadequate

Natura 2000 sites

Protected in the following Natura 2000 sites

Sitecode	Country	Site name	Action
ES7010017	Spain	Franja marina de Mogán	Map
ES7010020	Spain	Sebadales de La Graciosa	Map
ES7010022	Spain	Sebadales de Corralejo	Map
ES7010035	Spain	Playa de Sotavento de Jandía	Map
ES7010048	Spain	Bahía de Gando	Map
ES7010053	Spain	Playa del Cabrón	Map
ES7020017	Spain	Franja marina Teno-Rasca	Map
ES7020057	Spain	Mar de Las Calmas	Map
ES7020116	Spain	Sebadales del sur de Tenerife	Map
CY4000001	Cyprus	PERIOCHI POLIS - GIALIA	Map
ES6200048	Spain	Valles submarinos del Escarpe de Mazarrón	Map
CY4000010	Cyprus	CHERSONISOS AKAMA	Map
CY4000023	Cyprus	ZONI EIDIKIS PROSTASIAS CHERSONISOS AKAMA	Map

Protected sites

Please note the site map takes a while to display.

Legal status

Mentioned in the following international legal instruments and agreements

Legal text	Annex	More information
Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora - consolidated version 01/01/2007 (EU Habitats Directive)	Annex II: animal and plant species of community interest whose conservation requires the designation of special areas of conservation.	http://ec.europa.eu/environm...rective/index_en.htm
	Annex IV: animal and plant species of community interest in need of strict protection.
Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats (Bern Convention)	Annex II: strictly protected fauna species	http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cul.../bern/default_en.asp
	Revised Annex I of Resolution 6 (1998) of the Bern Convention listing the species requiring specific habitat conservation measures (year of revision 2011)	https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc....ckColorLogged=FDC864 Resolution No. 6 (1998) of the Bern Convention lists the species requiring specific habitat conservation measures [and the designation of Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCIs) forming for the Emerald network]
Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. (Bonn Convention)	Annex I: migratory species which are endangered and must be protected by Parties	http://www.cms.int/
	Annex II: migratory species which have an unfavourable conservation status and which require international agreements for their conservation and management, as well as those which have a conservation status which would significantly benefit from the international co-operation that could be achieved by an international agreement.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)	Annex I: species threatened with extinction which are or may be affected by trade. Trade in specimens of these species must be subject to particularly strict regulation in order not to endanger further their survival and must only be authorized in exceptional circumstances.	http://www.cites.org/eng
Commission regulation (EU) No 1320/2014, of 1 December 2014, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (EU regulation of trade of fauna and flora)	Annex A includes: All CITES Appendix I species, except where EU Member States have entered a reservation; Some CITES Appendix II and III species, for which the EU has adopted stricter domestic measures; Some non-CITES species	http://ec.europa.eu/environm...s/legislation_en.htm
Barcelona Convention Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD Protocol)	Annex II: Endangered or threatened species that the Parties shall manage with the aim of maintaining them in a favourable state of conservation. They shall ensure their maximum possible protection and recovery.	http://rac-spa.org/protocol http://rac-spa.org/sites/def...sion_ig_19_12_en.pdf

Common names and synonyms

Common Name	Language	Reference
Green turtle	English	Gasc J.P. and al.
Suppenschildkröte	German	Gasc J.P. and al.
Tortue franche	French	Gasc J.P. and al.
Tortue verte	French	Gasc J.P. and al.
Tortuga verde	Spanish	Gasc J.P. and al.

Synonym	Author
Testudo viridis	Schneider, 1783
Chelonia virgata	Schweigger, 1812

Other resources

EoL	Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea	Fauna Europaea
GBIF	Global Biodiversity Information Facility
Habitats Directive Art. 17-2006 summary
ITIS (Valid name)	Interagency Taxonomic Information System
NCBI search	National Center for Biotechnology Information
PESI (Accepted)	Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure
Species+	Species+ by UNEP-WCMC
Wikipedia	Wikipedia
WoRMS	World Register of Marine Species

External data

Reportnet deliveries

Files delivered through Reportnet with relevance to this species.

22 items found, displaying all items.1

Released	Coverage	Envelope	File
2015-12-11	France	France reporting Habitas Directive 2014 corrected files	Auvergne
2015-12-11	France	France reporting Habitas Directive 2014 corrected files	Lorraine
2015-12-11	France	France reporting Habitas Directive 2014 corrected files	PACA
2015-10-16	Italy	Habitat derogation 2013-2014	Habides + Habitat xml
2015-07-31	Greece	Habitats Directive Article 17 29_12_2014 submission GR	GR_species_reports-15723-10453.xml
2015-02-24	Germany	Habitat Derogation 2011_2012 Germany	Habitat_2011_2012_GER.xml
2014-03-11	Italy	Habitat derogation report 2011-2012	Habitat derogation report 2011-2012
2014-02-17	Cyprus	Article 17 Reporting 2007 - 2012	Species Reports
2013-12-10	Portugal	PT_Habitats_2011_2012	PT_Habitats_2011_2012
2013-12-04	Italy	3rd Italian national report 2013	IT_species_reports.xml
2013-10-10	United Kingdom	Habitats Directive Article 17 2013 2nd submission UK	GB_species_reports-13925-15297.xml
2013-09-18	Portugal	Relatorio nacional sobre a implementacao da Directiva Habitats 2013	PT_species_reports.xml
2013-09-11	Spain	Habitats Directive: Report Art.17 2007-2012	ES_species_reports
2011-12-12	Italy	Habitat Derogation Report 2009-2010	habitat derogation report 2009-2010
2008-07-07	Spain	Spain's delivery of 3 July	Chelonia mydas
2008-03-17	Netherlands	NL Report HR 2007	Species questionnaire for Chelonia mydas
2008-03-05	Italy	Italy	Chelonia mydas
2008-02-28	France	rapport France	Chelonia mydas
2008-02-25	Cyprus	Article 17 Reporting 2001 - 2006	Species questionnaire for Chelonia mydas
2008-02-25	United Kingdom	UK_submission	Chelonia mydas
2008-02-25	Portugal	Relatório nacional sobre a implementação da Directiva Habitats	Species questionnaire for Chelonia mydas
2008-02-22	Greece	Hellas	Species questionnaire for Chelonia mydas

Summary of derogations for species

EU member states are required to report derogations from protection efforts of species.

30 items found, displaying all items.1

Region	From	Until	Justification	Activity	Impact
Molise	2013-01-01	2013-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Capture	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Molise	2013-01-01	2013-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Transport	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Molise	2013-01-01	2013-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Veterinary treatment, measurements	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Puglia	2013-01-01	2013-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Capture	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Puglia	2013-01-01	2013-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Transport	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Puglia	2013-01-01	2013-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Veterinary treatment, measurements	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Basilicata	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	Data not available. The animals are not intentionally taken, but recovered after an accidental capture.	Capture	The activity is aimed at preserving injured sea turtles.
Basilicata	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	Data not available. The animals are not intentionally taken, but recovered after an accidental capture.	Transport	The activity is aimed at preserving injured sea turtles.
Basilicata	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	Data not available. The animals are not intentionally taken, but recovered after an accidental capture.	Marking and veterinary traetments	The activity is aimed at preserving injured sea turtles.
Calabria	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	Data not available. The animals are not intentionally taken, but recovered after an accidental capture.	Capture	The activity is aimed at preserving injured sea turtles.
Calabria	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	Data not available. The animals are not intentionally taken, but recovered after an accidental capture.	Transport	The activity is aimed at preserving injured sea turtles.
Calabria	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	Data not available. The animals are not intentionally taken, but recovered after an accidental capture.	Marking and veterinary traetments	The activity is aimed at preserving injured sea turtles.
Molise	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Capture	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Molise	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Transport	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Molise	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Veterinary treatment, measurements	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Puglia	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Capture	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Puglia	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Transport	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Puglia	2012-01-01	2012-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Veterinary treatment, measurements	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Molise	2011-07-07	2011-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Capture	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Molise	2011-07-07	2011-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Transport	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Molise	2011-07-07	2011-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Veterinary treatment, measurements	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Puglia	2011-07-07	2011-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Capture	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Puglia	2011-07-07	2011-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Transport	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Puglia	2011-07-07	2011-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Veterinary treatment, measurements	The activity is aimed at rescuing injured individuals.
Calabria	2011-01-01	2011-12-31	Data not available. The animals are not intentionally taken, but recovered after an accidental capture.	Capture	The activity is aimed at preserving injured sea turtles.
Calabria	2011-01-01	2011-12-31	Data not available. The animals are not intentionally taken, but recovered after an accidental capture.	Transport	The activity is aimed at preserving injured sea turtles.
Calabria	2011-01-01	2011-12-31	Data not available. The animals are not intentionally taken, but recovered after an accidental capture.	Marking and veterinary traetments	The activity is aimed at preserving injured sea turtles.
Sardegna	2010-01-01	2010-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Capture	No evidence of a significant impact
Sardegna	2010-01-01	2010-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Transport	No evidence of a significant impact
Sardegna	2010-01-01	2010-12-31	No defined number of individuals	Veterinary treatment, tissue sampling, marking, radio-tagging and following release	No evidence of a significant impact

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