Chewing Gum Lichen vs Green Sea Turtle

Protoblastenia rupestris compared with Chelonia mydas

Key Differences

• Chewing Gum Lichen is Near Threatened while Green Sea Turtle is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chewing Gum Lichen	Green Sea Turtle
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)	Reptilia (Reptiles)
Order	Lecanorales (Lecanorales)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Psoraceae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Protoblastenia	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Protoblastenia rupestris	Chelonia mydas

Conservation Status

Chewing Gum Lichen

NT — Near Threatened

Green Sea Turtle

EN — Endangered

Population: ~85.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chewing Gum Lichen	Green Sea Turtle
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	80 years
Average Length	—	1.2 m
Average Weight	—	200.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chewing Gum Lichen

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.

Chewing Gum Lichen

The Chewing Gum Lichen (Protoblastenia rupestris) is a species in the genus Protoblastenia. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

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.