Otter, Fischotter vs Green Sea Turtle

Lutra lutra compared with Chelonia mydas

Key Differences

• Otter, Fischotter is Vulnerable while Green Sea Turtle is Endangered.
• Otter, Fischotter is carnivore while Green Sea Turtle is herbivore.
• Green Sea Turtle is 20.0x heavier than Otter, Fischotter.
• Green Sea Turtle lives longer (80 years vs 10 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Otter, Fischotter	Green Sea Turtle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Tier)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordatiere)	Chordata (Chordatiere)
Class	Mammalia (Säugetiere)	Reptilia (Reptilien)
Order	Carnivora (Raubtiere)	Testudines (Schildkröten)
Family	Mustelidae (Weasels & Otters)	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Lutra (Otters)	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Lutra lutra	Chelonia mydas

Evolutionary Relationship

Otter, Fischotter and Green Sea Turtle share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordatiere)

Conservation Status

Otter, Fischotter

VU — Vulnerable

Trend: Stable →

Green Sea Turtle

EN — Endangered

Population: ~85.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Otter, Fischotter	Green Sea Turtle
Diet	Carnivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	10 years	80 years
Average Length	1.0 m	1.2 m
Average Weight	10.0 kg	200.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Otter, Fischotter

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries). Currently classified as Vulnerable 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.

Otter, Fischotter

Sleek semi-aquatic mustelid found along clean rivers, streams, and coastlines across Europe and Asia. European otters can reach 1.3 meters in length and are highly skilled fish hunters, using sensitive whiskers to detect prey movements. Requiring unpolluted water with abundant fish, they are an indicator species for freshwater ecosystem health. Once nearly extinct in Western Europe from hunting and pollution, populations have recovered significantly following water quality improvements.

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.