Giant Oceanic Manta Ray vs Green Sea Turtle

Manta birostris compared with Chelonia mydas

Key Differences

• Giant Oceanic Manta Ray is omnivore while Green Sea Turtle is herbivore.
• Giant Oceanic Manta Ray is 7.0x heavier than Green Sea Turtle.
• Green Sea Turtle lives longer (80 years vs 50 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Giant Oceanic Manta Ray	Green Sea Turtle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (cordados)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fish)	Reptilia (reptil)
Order	Lamniformes (Mackerel Sharks)	Testudines (Turtles & Tortoises)
Family	Rhincodontidae (Whale Sharks)	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Rhincodon (Whale Sharks)	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Manta birostris	Chelonia mydas

Evolutionary Relationship

Giant Oceanic Manta Ray and Green Sea Turtle share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (cordados)

Conservation Status

Giant Oceanic Manta Ray

EN — Endangered

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Green Sea Turtle

EN — Endangered

Population: ~85.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Giant Oceanic Manta Ray	Green Sea Turtle
Diet	Omnivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	50 years	80 years
Average Length	5.0 m	1.2 m
Average Weight	1.4 t	200.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Giant Oceanic Manta Ray

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including flooded grasslands and savannas, mangrove forests and coastal wetlands, and tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, among 5 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Indomalayan and Neotropic realms.

Range

Distributed across Australia, Ecuador, Maldives, Mexico, and Mozambique. Currently classified as Endangered 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.

Giant Oceanic Manta Ray

La manta raya gigante oceánica (Manta birostris) es la especie de raya más grande, con una envergadura de hasta 7 metros. Son animales filtradores que se alimentan de plancton.

Green Sea Turtle

La tortuga verde (Chelonia mydas) es una de las tortugas marinas más grandes. Su nombre proviene del color verde de su cartílago y grasa, no del caparazón.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇦🇺 Australia 🇲🇽 Mexico