Giant Oceanic Manta Ray vs Green Sea Turtle

Manta birostris compared with Chelonia mydas

Key Differences

• Giant Oceanic Manta Ray is omnivore while Green Sea Turtle is herbivore.
• Giant Oceanic Manta Ray is 7.0x heavier than Green Sea Turtle.
• Green Sea Turtle lives longer (80 years vs 50 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Giant Oceanic Manta Ray	Green Sea Turtle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fish)	Reptilia (Reptiles)
Order	Lamniformes (Mackerel Sharks)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Rhincodontidae (Whale Sharks)	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Rhincodon (Whale Sharks)	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Manta birostris	Chelonia mydas

Evolutionary Relationship

Giant Oceanic Manta Ray and Green Sea Turtle share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Giant Oceanic Manta Ray

EN — Endangered

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Green Sea Turtle

EN — Endangered

Population: ~85.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Giant Oceanic Manta Ray	Green Sea Turtle
Diet	Omnivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	50 years	80 years
Average Length	5.0 m	1.2 m
Average Weight	1.4 t	200.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Giant Oceanic Manta Ray

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including flooded grasslands and savannas, mangrove forests and coastal wetlands, and tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, among 5 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Indomalayan and Neotropic realms.

Range

Distributed across Australia, Ecuador, Maldives, Mexico, and Mozambique. 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.

Giant Oceanic Manta Ray

The giant manta ray is the largest ray species, with a wingspan up to 7 meters. They are filter feeders.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇦🇺 Australia 🇲🇽 Mexico