Diet

• Juveniles: Omnivorous, feeding on jellyfish, crabs, shrimp, sponges, molluscs, and other marine invertebrates, as well as algae.

• Adults: Primarily herbivorous, grazing on seagrasses and marine algae, making them the only sea turtle whose adult diet consists mainly of plants.

• Their grazing helps maintain healthy seagrass meadows, which serve as important nursery habitats for many marine species.

Range

• Found in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.

• Along the eastern Pacific, it occurs from southern California through the Gulf of California, the Pacific coast of Mexico, Central America, and South America.

• Common in the coastal waters of Guerrero, including the Zihuatanejo region, where juveniles forage in bays, estuaries, and seagrass habitats.

• Several beaches along Mexico's Pacific coast are important nesting sites.

Habitat

• Inhabits coastal bays, lagoons, estuaries, coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangrove channels, and nearshore waters.

• Juveniles spend their early years in the open ocean before moving into shallow coastal feeding areas.

• Adult females return to sandy beaches to lay their eggs, often travelling thousands of kilometres to the same nesting beaches where they hatched.

Size

• Carapace length: 80–120 cm (31–47 in)

• Weight: 110–190 kg (240–420 lb), with exceptionally large individuals exceeding 250 kg (550 lb).