Elm Leech vs Green Sea Turtle

Hypsizygus ulmarius compared with Chelonia mydas

Key Differences

• Elm Leech is Critically Endangered while Green Sea Turtle is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Elm Leech	Green Sea Turtle
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Reptilia (Reptiles)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Lyophyllaceae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Hypsizygus	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Hypsizygus ulmarius	Chelonia mydas

Conservation Status

Elm Leech

CR — Critically Endangered

Green Sea Turtle

EN — Endangered

Population: ~85.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Elm Leech

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), and North America (United States). Currently classified as Critically 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.