Flatback turtle
Natator depressus
- Usual depth0 m
- Water temperature23–28 °C
- Best monthsNovember and December
- How commonCommon
Photo credit: (c) JR Ferrer-Paris, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
About this species
The Australian flatback sea turtle is a species of sea turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is endemic to the sandy beaches and shallow coastal waters of the Australian continental shelf. This turtle gets its common name from the fact that its shell has a flattened, lower dome than the other sea turtles. It can be olive green to grey with a cream underside. It averages from 76 to 96 cm in carapace length and can weigh from 70 to 90 kg. The hatchlings are larger than other sea turtle hatchlings when they hatch and emerge from their nests.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Flatback 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: 14 records
- February: 10 records
- March: 5 records
- April: 3 records
- May: 2 records
- June: 10 records
- July: 14 records
- August: 17 records
- September: 19 records
- October: 9 records
- November: 37 records
- December: 36 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 0 m · Deepest record: 0 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 23–28 °C
Photos
(c) Mark Clarke, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Genevieve Early, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Saira Manns, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Andrew Parker, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
(c) Joshua Bishop, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist 
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist 
(c) JR Ferrer-Paris, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
Names and classification
- English
- Flatback turtle, Flatback, Flatback Sea Turtle, flatback turtle, Flatback Turtle
Names in 8 more languages
- German
- Australische Suppenschildkröte, Flache Meeresschildkröte, Wallriffschildkröte
- Spanish
- Tortuga Franca Oriental, Tortuga plana
- French
- Chelon, Chelonée à dos plat, Tortue à Dos Plat, Tortue marine à dos plat
- Indonesian
- Penyu Pipih
- Japanese
- ヒラタウミガメ
- Korean
- 납작등바다거북
- Thai
- เต่าหลังแบน
- Simplified Chinese
- 平背龜
Other scientific names: Chelonia depressa
Similar species
LoggerheadCaretta caretta
Green sea turtleChelonia mydas
Hawksbill turtleEretmochelys imbricata
Atlantic ridleyLepidochelys kempii
Olive ridelyLepidochelys olivacea
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).
- 5,784 open-data records from 1880 to 2012.
- Species data updated November 4, 2026.
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