Brongniart, 1800
Green turtles
Recognition
The adult carapace is heart shaped, flattened, lacks a vertebral keel, and is faintly serrated posteriorly. Four pleural scutes occur on each side, and there are five vertebrals. Lateral fontanelles are present in the adult carapace, and there are 11 pairs of peripherals with the 10th pair not touching the ribs, and 9 to 11 hexagonal, anteriorly short-sided neurals. The hingeless plastron has an intergular scute and may have postanal scutes; its bridge has four pairs of inframarginals lacking pores. In the pointed skull, the vomer contacts the premaxillae and separates the maxillae. Triturating surfaces of the maxillae are ridged, but not those of the premaxillae. The descending prefrontal processes touch both the vomer and palatines; the frontal usually enters the orbit. A blunt ridge occurs on the vomer and palatines at the anterior margin of the internal choanae. Only one pair of prefrontal scales and four postoculars are present. Each forelimb has one claw. Only one species is currently assigned to this genus, the green turtle, Chelonia mydas.