There are seven kinds of sea turtle swimming our oceans today. Tap a button to sort them and see how they compare.
Dermochelys coriacea
Vulnerable · IUCN 2013The largest turtle on Earth, with a leathery shell, and the deepest diver — over 1,000 m down.
Chelonia mydas
Least Concern · IUCN 2025The only sea turtle that is a plant-eater as an adult — its greenish fat gives it its name. Numbers have climbed since the 1970s, and in 2025 it became the first sea turtle moved OFF the threatened categories.
Caretta caretta
Vulnerable · IUCN 2015The most common nesting sea turtle on the U.S. East Coast — including the beaches of North Carolina.
Natator depressus
Data Deficient · IUCN 1996All known nesting sites are in Australia; feeding grounds also extend into Indonesian and Papua New Guinean waters.
Eretmochelys imbricata
Critically Endangered · IUCN 2008Its beautiful patterned shell made it a target for the “tortoiseshell” trade — a big reason it’s so rare today.
Lepidochelys olivacea
Vulnerable · IUCN 2008The most abundant sea turtle — famous for “arribadas,” when thousands nest on one beach at once.
Lepidochelys kempii
Critically Endangered · IUCN 2019The smallest and rarest sea turtle in the world, nesting mainly on a single stretch of Mexican coast.
Conservation status follows the IUCN Red List and can change as populations recover or decline. See where each species lives on the map, or read about why sea turtles are endangered and their life cycle.