Leatherback Sea Turtle vs Prickly Pole

Dermochelys coriacea compared with Bactris jamaicana

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Leatherback Sea Turtle	Prickly Pole
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Reptilia (Reptiles)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)	Arecales (Arecales)
Family	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)	Arecaceae
Genus	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)	Bactris
Species	Dermochelys coriacea	Bactris jamaicana

Conservation Status

Leatherback Sea Turtle

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~35.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Prickly Pole

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

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.

Prickly Pole

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Leatherback Sea Turtle

The leatherback is the largest living turtle and the fourth-heaviest reptile. Unlike other turtles, it has a soft, leathery shell.