Hawksbill Turtle in Cozumel

A narrow pointed beak like a bird of prey, and shell plates that overlap like roof tiles with a serrated rear edge. Two pairs of scales between the eyes.

Quick ID

Where You Will See It In Cozumel

Hawksbill Turtle works the 6 to 98 foot band. On this island that means the sheltered west-coast reefs — these are the sites where the depth and the habitat line up for it.

Without a boat. It is worth looking for at El Presidente, Money Bar and Playa Corona — all shore entries, so you dive them on your own schedule.

On an ordinary beginner boat dive. It should be within reach at Columbia Shallows, El Cielo, La Francesa, Las Palmas and Molas Shallow. No advanced certification needed.

Deeper, and on the walls. It is also plausible on Cantarel (Eagle Ray Wall), Chun-Chacaab, Colombia Deep and Devil's Throat.

Conditions change the odds more than the site does — the current, the time of day and how much the group has already stirred up the sand. Ask your guide what they have been seeing that week.

Behaviour

A sponge specialist — the narrow beak is a tool for digging sponge out of crevices, and it is one of very few animals that can eat toxic sponge species. That diet is why hawksbills matter structurally to a reef: they keep sponges from overgrowing coral.

Commonly Confused With

• Green turtle — Green turtles have a blunt rounded beak, non-overlapping shell plates and a single pair of scales between the eyes.
• Loggerhead turtle — Loggerheads have a very large blocky head and a reddish-brown shell.

Diving Etiquette And Safety

Critically Endangered and fully protected in Mexico. Never touch, ride, block or crowd. A turtle needs to reach the surface — never position yourself above one.

Part of the Cozumel marine life guide · see Cozumel dive sites · plan your Cozumel dive trip

Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.