What is a baby sea turtle called?

A baby sea turtle is called a hatchling. The term applies from the moment it breaks out of its egg until it grows beyond its earliest life stage.

Sea turtle hatchlings develop inside soft-shelled eggs buried in sand by their mothers. After incubation, they usually emerge together, dig upward through the nest, and crawl toward the ocean. Most species hatch at night, when cooler temperatures and darkness offer some protection from predators and heat.

A hatchling’s sex is influenced by the temperature of the nest rather than by chromosomes alone. Warmer sand generally produces more females, while cooler sand produces more males. This makes climate and changing beach temperatures important conservation concerns.

Hatchlings are not miniature versions of adult turtles in behavior or lifestyle. Many spend their first years in open ocean areas, sometimes sheltering and feeding around floating Sargassum seaweed. Common mix-ups include calling one a “baby turtle” or using mammal terms such as cub, pup, or calf; “hatchling” is the precise term because the animal emerges from an egg.