Bush Maerua vs Leatherback Sea Turtle

Maerua cafra compared with Dermochelys coriacea

Key Differences

Bush Maerua is Least Concern while Leatherback Sea Turtle is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bush Maerua	Leatherback Sea Turtle
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Reptilia (Reptiles)
Order	Brassicales (Brassicales)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Capparaceae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Maerua	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Maerua cafra	Dermochelys coriacea

Conservation Status

Bush Maerua

LC — Least Concern

Leatherback Sea Turtle

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~35.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bush Maerua	Leatherback Sea Turtle
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	2.0 m
Average Weight	—	500.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bush Maerua

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Leatherback 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 5 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan and Neotropic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Bush Maerua

The Bush Maerua (Maerua cafra) is a species in the genus Maerua. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.