Green Sea Turtle vs Sword Fern

Chelonia mydas compared with Nephrolepis exaltata

Key Differences

• Green Sea Turtle is Endangered while Sword Fern is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Green Sea Turtle	Sword Fern
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Tracheophyta
Class	Reptilia (Reptiles)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)
Family	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)	Nephrolepidaceae
Genus	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)	Nephrolepis
Species	Chelonia mydas	Nephrolepis exaltata

Conservation Status

Green Sea Turtle

EN — Endangered

Population: ~85.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Sword Fern

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic 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.

Sword Fern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania), Asia (Turkey), Europe (Portugal, Spain), North America (Cuba), Oceania and the Pacific (6 countries), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

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 1 countries:

🇧🇷 Brazil