Cape Teak vs Green Sea Turtle

Strychnos decussata compared with Chelonia mydas

Key Differences

• Cape Teak is Least Concern while Green Sea Turtle is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cape Teak	Green Sea Turtle
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Reptilia (Reptiles)
Order	Gentianales (Gentianales)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Loganiaceae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Strychnos	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Strychnos decussata	Chelonia mydas

Conservation Status

Cape Teak

LC — Least Concern

Green Sea Turtle

EN — Endangered

Population: ~85.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cape Teak

Habitat

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

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.

Cape Teak

The Cape Teak (Strychnos decussata) is a species in the genus Strychnos. It is currently classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Green Sea Turtle

The green sea turtle is one of the largest sea turtles. They are named for the green color of their cartilage and fat, not their shells.