Green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas, feeding on Synapta maculata (Holothuroidea: Synaptidae) on a seagrass bed (Syringodium isoetifolium) at Reunion Island, western Indian Ocean

Young green turtles, Chelonia mydas, frequent the Syringodium isoetifolium seagrass beds on Reunion’s inner reef flats of fringing reefs, where they come to feed. Photographs of a green turtle looking for and eating the snake sea cucumber. Synapta maculata, were taken for the first time at Reunion Island. S. maculata is a sea cucumber species that was frequently observed on the inner reef flats and on the back-reef depression, but these abundances seem to be decreasing in recent years. Studies of S. maculata populations are needed to monitor changes in densities of this species, which has an important ecosystem role, as well as other observations to determine whether this case of green sea turtle predation is an isolated one or whether S. maculata may occasionally be part of the diet of young C. mydas in Reunion

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