A LITTLE WILDLIFE PERSPECTIVE
How big is a green sea turtle?
Compare your height to a green sea turtle.
Adult green sea turtles are roughly 0.9–1.2 m (3–4 ft) long. This swimming outline includes the extended head and flippers, spanning about 1.6 m overall.
A LITTLE PERSPECTIVE
Green sea turtle
next to the average.
Average U.S. adults, side by side.
Side view · example 1.6 m full outline, including head and flippers
- Average man (U.S.)5 ft 8.9 in
- Green sea turtle2 ft 9.1 in
- Average woman (U.S.)5 ft 3.5 in
How do you measure up?
Enter your height to stand beside a green sea turtle.
Side by side
- Green sea turtle2 ft 9.1 in
- Your placeAdd your height
The animal is an example adult in the pose shown. Its full outline is scaled to 84 cm vertically. Side view · example 1.6 m full outline, including head and flippers. Shoulder height and body length are explained below.
Where do you stand?
Keep this comparison and open the full library of people, celebrities, animals, and objects.
GET TO KNOW THE ANIMAL
Small facts. Big discoveries.
Green sea turtle · Chelonia mydas
Green turtles are large marine reptiles with paddle-shaped flippers. Adults feed mainly on seagrasses and algae, although their diet can also include other foods.
Green turtles migrate between feeding areas and nesting beaches. Females return to land to lay eggs, often in the same general area where they hatched, while young turtles spend their early years offshore.
- Like other sea turtles, they must surface to breathe air.
- The name “green turtle” refers to the color of its fat, not its shell.
How big do adults get?
- Male
- Shared adult length guide: 0.9–1.2 m
- Female
- Shared adult length guide: 0.9–1.2 m
The illustration’s shell is approximately 1 m long. Its larger full outline includes the head and extended flippers; the ruler shows the vertical extent of this swimming pose. The adult guide is shared by both sexes.
Height, length, or weight?
Standing height runs from the ground to the top of the animal. Shoulder height stops at the top of the shoulders. Length runs along the body; it is not how tall an animal stands. Weight tells us how heavy it is.
Explore the science: NOAA Fisheries ↗