Cheloniidae
| Cheloniid sea turtles Temporal range: Late Cretaceous-Holocene, | |
|---|---|
| A green sea turtle, a species of the family Cheloniidae, swimming over coral reefs in Kona, Hawaii | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Testudines |
| Suborder: | Cryptodira |
| Superfamily: | Chelonioidea |
| Family: | Cheloniidae Oppel, 1811 |
| Type genus | |
| Chelonia Brongniart, 1800 | |
| Genera | |
| Synonyms | |
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Cheloniidae is a family of typically large marine turtles that are characterised by their common traits such as, having a flat streamlined wide and rounded shell and almost paddle-like flippers for their forelimbs. They are the only sea turtles to have stronger front limbs than back limbs. The six species that make up this family are: the green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, flatback sea turtle and the Kemp's ridley sea turtle.