Common Jelly Spot vs Leatherback Sea Turtle

Dacrymyces stillatus compared with Dermochelys coriacea

Key Differences

Common Jelly Spot is Least Concern while Leatherback Sea Turtle is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Jelly Spot	Leatherback Sea Turtle
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Dacrymycetes (Dacrymycetes)	Reptilia (Reptiles)
Order	Dacrymycetales (Dacrymycetales)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Dacrymycetaceae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Dacrymyces	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Dacrymyces stillatus	Dermochelys coriacea

Conservation Status

Common Jelly Spot

LC — Least Concern

Leatherback Sea Turtle

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~35.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Jelly Spot	Leatherback Sea Turtle
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	2.0 m
Average Weight	—	500.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Jelly Spot

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

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.

Common Jelly Spot

<em>Dacrymyces stillatus</em>, commonly known as the common jelly spot, is a saprotrophic fungus in the family Dacrymycetaceae. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with records from five European countries and North America. The species typically grows on damp, dead, or decaying wood, particularly coniferous timber, forming small, gelatinous, orange-yellow cushions or pustules on the substrate surface. As a saprotrophic wood-decay fungus, it contributes to nutrient cycling and the decomposition of woody material in temperate forest ecosystems. The bright gelatinous fruiting bodies make it a conspicuous species when encountered on wet wood in cool, humid conditions. Diet information for this species is not available in current records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.