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VIDEO: Brevard Zoo Green Sea Turtle ‘Archie’ Recovers From Fibropapillomatosis

By  //  September 12, 2016

grows up to 5 feet and weighs Up to 700 pounds

ABOVE VIDEO: The Brevard Zoo talks about endangered species Archie the Green Sea Turtle and how tumors affect the  Fibropapillomatosis, a debilitating disease that affects sea turtles in Florida and many other parts of the world.

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – The Brevard Zoo talks about endangered species Archie the Green Sea Turtle and how tumors affect the  Fibropapillomatosis, a debilitating disease that affects sea turtles in Florida and many other parts of the world.

Turtles with FP have external tumors that may grow so large and hanging as to hamper swimming, vision, feeding, and potential escape from predators.

These lesions have been reported in all sea turtle species except in leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea). For an unknown reason, the frequency of FP is much higher in green turtles (Chelonia mydas) than in other species.

The green turtle is a large, weighty sea turtle with a wide, smooth carapace, or shell. It inhabits tropical and subtropical coastal waters around the world and has been observed clambering onto land to sunbathe.

Turtles with FP have external tumors that may grow so large and hanging as to hamper swimming, vision, feeding, and potential escape from predators. (Wikipedia image)
Turtles with FP have external tumors that may grow so large and hanging as to hamper swimming, vision, feeding, and potential escape from predators. (Wikipedia image)

The green turtle is named not for the color of its shell, which is normally brown or olive depending on its habitat, but for the greenish color of its skin.

There are two types of green turtles—scientists are currently debating whether they are subspecies or separate species—including the Atlantic green turtle, normally found off the shores of Europe and North America, and the Eastern Pacific green turtle, which has been found in coastal waters from Alaska to Chile.

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Weighing up to 700 pounds green turtles are among the largest sea turtles in the world. Their proportionally small head, which is nonretractable, extends from a heart-shaped carapace that measures up to 5 feet.

Males are slightly larger than females and have a longer tail. Both have flippers that resemble paddles, which make them powerful and graceful swimmers.

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