Arctic Tern vs Green Sea Turtle

Sterna paradisaea compared with Chelonia mydas

Key Differences

Arctic Tern is Least Concern while Green Sea Turtle is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic Tern	Green Sea Turtle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Reptilia (Reptiles)
Order	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Laridae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Sterna	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Sterna paradisaea	Chelonia mydas

Evolutionary Relationship

Arctic Tern and Green Sea Turtle share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

View Phylum: Chordata

Conservation Status

Arctic Tern

LC — Least Concern

Green Sea Turtle

EN — Endangered

Population: ~85.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic Tern	Green Sea Turtle
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	80 years
Average Length	—	1.2 m
Average Weight	—	200.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic Tern

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador).

Green Sea Turtle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, and Mexico. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.