Eretmochelys imbricata (Linnaeus, 1766).

Carapace length is up to 910 mm. The carapace is depressed with serrated edges; the snout is elongated and forms the prominent, rather tapered, unnotched bird-like ‘beak’ that gives it its common name. The forelimbs have two claws; carapace color is dark greenish-brown. The Hawksbill Turtle feeds mainly on sponges, which account for about 95% of its diet; it also eats sea anemones, soft corals, crustaceans and mollusks, and some seagrasses and algae. The female comes ashore at night to dig the nest and lay 53-206 eggs, which she covers carefully before returning to the sea and leaving the eggs to incubate for 47-74 days. This turtle, like all sea turtles, is a critically endangered species, largely because of the demand for tortoiseshell and stuffed turtles, which has caused a major decline in its number worldwide. In Egypt, coastal development is threatening its nesting beaches. It is found in the Egyptian Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, and the Gulf of Aqaba. Globally, it is distributed in all tropical and temperate seas and erratically in the Mediterranean.