(Eretmochelys imbricata)

Hunted over the years for their beautiful shells, hawksbill turtles are considered to be critically endangered. The hawksbill turtle has a narrow head and a long, tapered beak shaped similarly to that of a bird of prey, hence the name. The scutes on their shells are misleadingly known as tortoiseshell and are sought after in some parts of the world to make jewelry and other ornaments. Trade in all wild marine turtles and their parts is currently banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) but some illegal trade continues to endanger the species. Please don't buy genuine tortoiseshell items at home or abroad.

How big? One of the smaller turtles, adult hawksbills usually reach about 1m in length and weigh approximately 60kg.

What's on the menu? Adult hawksbills feed almost exclusively on sponges and soft bodied marine invertebrates. Click here to see a feeding hawksbill at Arkive.org.

Where do they live? Hawksbills are the most tropical of all the marine turtles, living around tropical coral reefs and lagoons in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Hawksbills nest throughout the tropics with significant rookeries at sites in Australia, the Seychelles, the Caribbean and Mexico.  Click here to see a swimming hawksbill at Arkive.org. There has been only one confirmed record of a hawksbill in UK and Irish waters, when a hawksbill was accidentally entangled in a herring net set off Cork Harbour in February 1983.

Endangered? Hawksbill turtles are listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), due to the impact of historical and current trade in their shells, as well as the threats faced by all marine turtle species. It is illegal to bring tortoiseshell into the UK, so please don't buy it when you are on holiday.

If you want to find out more about hawksbill turtles and how you can help them, why not Adopt-a-Turtle?