Leatherback Sea Turtle vs Rootless Duckweed

Dermochelys coriacea compared with Wolffia arrhiza

Key Differences

• Leatherback Sea Turtle is Vulnerable while Rootless Duckweed is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Leatherback Sea Turtle	Rootless Duckweed
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Reptilia (Reptiles)	Liliopsida (Monocots)
Order	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)	Alismatales (Alismatales)
Family	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)	Araceae
Genus	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)	Wolffia
Species	Dermochelys coriacea	Wolffia arrhiza

Conservation Status

Leatherback Sea Turtle

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~35.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Rootless Duckweed

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Leatherback Sea Turtle	Rootless Duckweed
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.

Rootless Duckweed

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, and temperate coniferous forests, among 4 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Oceanian and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan), Europe (10 countries), North America (Canada), and South America (Brazil). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Leatherback Sea Turtle

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