Hover fly vs Leatherback Sea Turtle

Eristalis rupium compared with Dermochelys coriacea

Key Differences

Hover fly is Near Threatened while Leatherback Sea Turtle is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Hover fly	Leatherback 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	Syrphidae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Eristalis	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Eristalis rupium	Dermochelys coriacea

Evolutionary Relationship

Hover fly and Leatherback Sea Turtle share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

View Kingdom: Animalia

Conservation Status

Hover fly

NT — Near Threatened

Leatherback Sea Turtle

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~35.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Hover fly	Leatherback Sea Turtle
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	2.0 m
Average Weight	—	500.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Hover fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.