10 Bite-Sized Sea Turtle Diet Facts

Sea turtles don’t give two flaps about how fast time flies, since they’ve been living in slow-motion for millions of years! Considering such a pace, you might wonder: What do these go-with-the-slow marine animals eat? Today we’re fishing out 10 sea turtle diet facts for your mind to chew on!

Do Sea Turtles Have Teeth?

Sea turtles don’t have teeth- they have horny beaks! Beak shape is specific to species and adapted to diet.

Baby Food for Sea Turtles

Although they look like their parents, young sea turtles don’t necessarily eat like them. Hatchlings of any species typically dine on pelagic mollusks, larval crustaceans, hydrozoans, fish eggs, seaweed, and jellyfish.

Soft, Squishy Food for Leatherback Turtles

These sea turtles enjoy a wiggly, jiggly diet of gelatinous prey such as jellyfish and other squishy invertebrates like tunicates and sea squirts. Leatherback sea turtles have sharp cusps in their mouths that make it easy to pierce soft-bodied prey.

Crab-Crushing Loggerheads

While their hatchlings are omnivores, loggerheads grow up to be crustacean connoisseurs. Loggerhead sea turtles feast on crabs, conches, and whelks. Attached to their big heads are incredibly strong jaws that can crush the shells of any crustacean unfortunate enough to be on the menu.

No Sponge is Safe

Hawksbill sea turtles are sometimes referred to as spongivores because of their distinct taste for sponges and nothing else. They have bird-like beaks which allow them to reach into crevices of reefs to pluck out tasty sponges. Hawksbill sea turtles also have an immunity to sponges that contain spicules and toxins, which facilitates less competition and greater diversity of sponges on the reef.

Some Turtles Are Picky Eaters

Olive ridley sea turtles have a wider diet than other sea turtles. They devour a multitude of animals like crabs, shrimp, lobster, urchins, jellyfish, and regular fish, without skimping on greens such as seaweed, seagrass, and algae.

Eat Your Crab First

Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are largely carnivorous. They eat fish, jellyfish, shrimp, and an array of mollusks, but they prefer crabs above anything else.

Check Your Flatback

Flatback sea turtles have very peculiar tastes, preying on sea cucumbers, jellyfish, shrimp, crabs, mollusks, fish, seaweed, and even soft corals.

Leafy Greens for Green Sea Turtles

Green sea turtles are mostly herbivores, even though their hatchlings are omnivores for the first 10-12 years. They have serrated beaks that make it easy to tear seagrasses and scrape algae off of hard surfaces.

Greens Keepers

Green sea turtles are imperative to the health of coral reefs. If unchecked, algae can easily out-grow and kill the coral on which it lives. Green sea turtles keep the balance by eating the algae, which allows the coral reef to flourish.

Where to Find Sea Turtles

Now that you know these fun facts about sea turtles and their diets, visit Turtle Reef at SeaWorld San Diego to watch them munch on their favorite foods while you munch on yours!