Loggerhead turtle (subadult, adult)
Loggerhead turtles are the most common species that come to Japan to lay eggs, and are also the ones that come ashore on Ohama Beach. They are characterized by their reddish-brown body color and large heads, and when they become adults, they can reach over one meter in length. They are carnivorous, preferring shellfish and shrimp. They are known to migrate widely using ocean currents and grow across the Pacific Ocean.
Green sea turtle (subadult, adult)
Their spawning grounds are in the Ogasawara and Nansei Islands, and they do not spawn in Shikoku. On the other hand, in the waters around Minami Town, young turtles as young as 50 cm in length live in the area to feed on seaweed and grow up, stopping by on their way to spawn. They are herbivorous and prefer to eat seagrass and seaweeds. As they grow, they transform into giant tortoises over 1.5 meters in length.
Loggerhead turtle (baby turtle)
Every year, the aquarium accepts baby turtles born at other aquariums and makes them available to the public.
Baby loggerhead turtles ride the Kuroshio Current and head out to sea, are creatures that humans would never normally see. Breeding individuals are either raised for artificial breeding or released into the Kuroshio Current, with the aim of returning them to the wild after about a year.
Green sea turtle (baby turtle)
Hatchlings of green turtles are also on display and open to the public at the museum. These turtles are born on Yakushima Island, and are carried out in conjunction with the activities of the "Yakushima Sea Turtle Museum". After one year of life, they return to Yakushima.
Hawksbill turtle
In Japan, this tropical sea turtle lays eggs only in Okinawa Prefecture and the Yaeyama Islands. It lives mainly on coral reefs and feeds on animals called Kaimen.
Its beautiful shell has a history of being overhunted as a raw material for the traditional craft of bekko zaiku.
Some of the hatchlings born seem to drift in on the Kuroshio Current, and even in Tokushima, they are rarely found stuck in the winter cold and may be temporarily protected.
Black turtle
It is similar to the green turtle, but slightly smaller, with a black, heart-shaped carapace.
Taxonomically, it is a subspecies of the green turtle, but because of this difference in appearance, some researchers believe it should be treated as a separate species.
It is originally found across the Pacific Ocean, along the west coast of Mexico, but swims to Japan(?) in recent years, it has occasionally been discovered in Japan.
Turtles other than sea turtles
At our museum, for a deeper understanding of the evolution and ecology of sea turtles, the museum keeps and exhibits about 15 species of turtles, including tortoises and freshwater turtles.
