Hawksbill Turtle

Hawksbill Turtle - IUCN Conservation Status: Critically Endangered

Hawksbills only grow to about three feet in length. They will grow to 180 pounds on average.

This month our gallery theme is “Turtles”! Ben and I are fortunate to have had many turtle encounters over the years. They are magical moments. When I was 13, I went snorkeling for the first time and saw a turtle. That was a powerful experience that got me obsessed with the marine world and eventually scuba diving.

Eastern Box Turtle

Sometimes sea turtles can be difficult to identify. Limited underwater visibility can sometimes just provide a silhouette of the turtle. In the case of this photo, the turtle is silhouetted because the photo is being taken from ~30 feet underwater, while the hawksbill turtle is on the surface. Despite this, we can still make an identification on this turtle. If you look closely, the outer edges of the back of the shell are jagged. This is a characteristic of a hawksbill turtle. Additionally, the bill of the turtle is pronounced. This makes it more likely to be a hawksbill than a green turtle. If the head was disproportionally large, I would lean towards it being a loggerhead, but this is not the case. The size of this turtle is difficult to tell in this image. There are no size references aside from the wave ripples. This turtle was only about a foot long. Although many turtles can be this size, hawksbills tend to be on the smaller size. Hawksbills only grow to about three feet in length. They will grow to 180 pounds on average. Green sea turtles will grow to around four feet long, and can weigh over 400 pounds!

After catching a breath, the turtle swam back down to the bottom. I was able to confirm it was indeed a hawksbill turtle. There are distinct patterns on their shells that can he used for identification. If you are close enough to get a look at their head/face, you will see that the hawksbill has two pairs of plates between its eyes and green turtles only have one pair of plates between its eyes.

Green Turtle

What do hawksbill turtles eat? Although they are considered omnivorous, their primary food are sponges. Hawksbills will also eat jellyfish, algae, and crustaceans. Turtles can use their armored bodies to consume foods that otherwise would be dangerous. Hawksbills eat Portuguese man o’ war, which have an extremely painful sting. The hawksbill turtles are protected everywhere except their eyes, so they just close their eyes when eating Portuguese man o’ war.

Turtles can use their armored bodies to consume foods that otherwise would be dangerous.

Did you know?

Six species of sea turtle are found in US waters. (Hawksbill, Green, Kemp’s Ridley, Leatherback, Loggerhead, and Olive Ridley)
This photo was taken in Little Cayman along Bloody Bay Wall in 2014.

This Month's Gallery