Thalassia testudinum
species of marine seagrass
Thalassia testudinum, commonly known as turtlegrass, is a species of marine seagrass in the family Hydrocharitaceae. It forms meadows in shallow, sandy water in locations in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Turtle grass and other seagrasses form meadows which are important habitats and feeding grounds. The grass is eaten by turtles and herbivorous fish, supports many epiphytes, and provides habitat for juvenile fish and many invertebrate taxa.
Description
Thalassia testudinum is a perennial grass growing from a long, jointed rhizome. The rhizome is buried in the substrate 5 to 10 cm (2 to 4 in) deep, exceptionally down to 25 centimetres (9.8 in). Some nodes are leafless but others bear a tuft of several erect, linear leaf blades. These are up to 30 centimetres (12 in) long and 2 cm (0.8 in) wide and have rounded tips. The flowers grow on short stalks in the axils of the leaves and are greenish-white, sometimes tinged pink, and are followed by seed pods.
Distribution and habitat
Turtle grass grows in meadows in calm shallow waters throughout the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, and as far north as Cape Canaveral in Florida.
“Thalassia testudinum” enters the record as species of marine seagrass. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Thalassia, testudinum and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3519445. The Library of Congress control number is sh2007003785. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
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This entry incorporates text from “Thalassia testudinum” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.