Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 149, May 2017, pp. 1-30. | Page 8

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My precious wife Ola Khalaf showing her Green Sea Turtle Nest Adoption Certificate, near the
adopted nest at the Reef Turtle Hatchery, Mataking Island, Malaysia. 11.02.2015.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/50022881@N00/19912714441/

Taxonomy
The green sea turtle is a member of the tribe Chelonini. A 1993 study clarified the
status of genus Chelonia with respect to the other marine turtles.
The carnivorous Eretmochelys (Hawksbill), Caretta (Loggerhead) and Lepidochelys
(Ridley) were assigned to the tribe Carettini. Herbivorous Chelonia warranted their
status as a genus, while Natator (Flatback) was further removed from the other
genera than previously believed (Wikipedia).
The species was originally described by Linnaeus in 1758 as Testudo mydas. In 1868,
Marie Firmin Bocourt named a particular species of sea turtle Chelonia agassizii. This
"species" was referred to as the "black sea turtle". Later research determined
Bocourt's "black sea turtle" was not genetically distinct from Chelonia mydas, and thus
taxonomically not a separate species. These two "species" were then united as
Chelonia mydas and populations were given subspecies status: C. mydas mydas
referred to the originally described population, while C. mydas agassizii referred only
to the Pacific population known as the Galápagos green turtle. This subdivision was
later determined to be invalid and all species members were then designated
Chelonia mydas. The oft-mentioned name Chelonia agassizii remains an invalid junior
synonym of C. mydas (Wikipedia).
The species' common name does not derive from any particular green external
coloration of the turtle. Its name comes from the greenish color of the turtles' fat,
which is only found in a layer between their inner organs and their shell. As a
species found worldwide, the green turtle is called differently in some languages
and dialects. In the Hawaiian language, honu is used to refer to this species
(Wikipedia).
Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 149 – May 2017