Downland Horsefly vs Green Sea Turtle

Tabanus glaucopis compared with Chelonia mydas

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Downland Horsefly	Green Sea Turtle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Reptilia (Reptiles)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Tabanidae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Tabanus	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Tabanus glaucopis	Chelonia mydas

Evolutionary Relationship

Downland Horsefly and Green Sea Turtle share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Downland Horsefly

EN — Endangered

Green Sea Turtle

EN — Endangered

Population: ~85.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Downland Horsefly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.

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.