(Lepidochelys olivacea)

The olive ridley's name comes from its olive-green carapace. The name ridley may come from the word "riddler" or "riddle" because this species was once thought be a hybrid of other turtle species. The olive ridley is famous for its spectacular arribadas, where thousands of females nest simultaneously on the same beach. Click here to see an arribada at Arkive.org.

How big? Like their close relative the Kemps ridley, olive ridleys are small marine turtles, weighing about 40kg and growing up to 1m long.

What's on the menu? Olive ridleys inhabit the open ocean and little is known about their diet. They are thought to feed on swimming crabs, jellyfish, fish and other small open ocean animals.

Where do they live? Olive ridleys are widespread throughout the tropical oceans of the world. The females nest individually or in arribadas (Spanish for arrival), when large groups of turtles nest together on one rookery. Arribadas occur on a few isolated tropical beaches in Central America, with the largest known aribbada occurring twice a year on the coast of Orissa north east India. Click here to see olive ridley turtles mating at Arkive.org.

Endangered? Until recently, this species is listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). In September 2007 the IUCN changed the listing to vulnerable. For more information see the IUCN Marine Turtles Specialist Group website. Despite the fact that they nest in huge numbers in some parts of the world, a significant percentage of the world's olive ridley population depends on just a few nesting beaches for their survival.

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