Olive ridely
Lepidochelys olivacea
- Usual depth0 m
- Water temperature23–29 °C
- Best monthsMay, August, and September
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) Bernard Gagnon, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
About this species
The olive ridley sea turtle, also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world. L. olivacea is found in warm and tropical waters, primarily in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, but also in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Olive ridley sea turtle”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article
Where and when
Where it has been recorded
Worldwide
Loading the map
Best months
Worldwide (open data)
- January: 660 records
- February: 483 records
- March: 423 records
- April: 479 records
- May: 2,275 records
- June: 790 records
- July: 1,288 records
- August: 1,856 records
- September: 1,828 records
- October: 1,743 records
- November: 1,440 records
- December: 817 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0 m · Deepest record: 0.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–29 °C
Photos
(c) Bill Levine, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Kyle Van Houtan, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Teja Yantrapalli, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Tomás Carranza Perales, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Eric Knight, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Ignacio Moreira Loera, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Olive ridely, Pacific ridley turtle, Bastard Sea Turtle, olive ridely, Olive Ridley, Olive Ridley Seaturtle, Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, Olive Ridley Turtle, Pacific Ridley, Pacific Ridley; Olive Ridley Sea Turtle, Pacific Ridley Sea Turtle
Names in 8 more languages
- German
- Bastardschildkröte, Gewöhnliche Bastardschildkröte, Oliv-Bastardschildkröte
- Spanish
- Tortuga Carpintera, Tortuga Golfina, Tortuga Golfína, Tortuga Guaragu, Tortuga Guaraguá, Tortuga Lora, Tortuga Manila, Tortuga-marina escamosa-del Pacífico, Tortuga Mulato, Tortuga Olivacea, Tortuga Olivácea, Tortuga Parlama
- French
- Ridley du Pacifique, Tortue Bâtarde, Tortue de Ridley, Tortue Olivâtre, Tortue olivâtre (La), Tortue Olive
- Indonesian
- Penyu Lekang
- Japanese
- ヒメウミガメ
- Korean
- 올리브바다거북
- Thai
- เต่าหญ้าตาแดง
- Simplified Chinese
- 太平洋丽龟, 欖蠵龜, 麗龜
Other scientific names: Chelonia olivacea
Similar species
Atlantic ridleyLepidochelys kempii
LoggerheadCaretta caretta
Green sea turtleChelonia mydas
Hawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricata
Flatback turtleNatator depressus
Sources and credits
Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).
- Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
- Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
- Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
- 16,515 open-data records from 1829 to 2022.
- Species data updated November 4, 2026.
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