Green Sea Turtle

Photo: wellmaintainedhedge · CC BY-NC

Green turtles are the dominant visitors to the Geruma cleaning station, with multiple individuals using the same coral heads on a regular schedule that local guides have tracked over years. They enter a trance-like state during cleaning, remaining motionless for up to 20 minutes while cleaner fish pick parasites from their skin, eyes, and the interior edges of their shells. Juveniles and sub-adults are more common at this site than at deeper reef edges, suggesting it functions as an important developmental habitat.