Chola guitarfish vs Green Sea Turtle

Pseudobatos percellens compared with Chelonia mydas

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chola guitarfish	Green Sea Turtle
Kingdom same	Animalia (hayvan)	Animalia (hayvan)
Phylum same	Chordata (Kordalılar)	Chordata (Kordalılar)
Class	Elasmobranchii	Reptilia (Sürüngenler)
Order	Rhinopristiformes (Rhinopristiformes)	Testudines (Kaplumbağa)
Family	Rhinobatidae	Cheloniidae (Sea Turtles)
Genus	Pseudobatos	Chelonia (Green Sea Turtles)
Species	Pseudobatos percellens	Chelonia mydas

Evolutionary Relationship

Chola guitarfish and Green Sea Turtle share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Kordalılar)

Conservation Status

Chola guitarfish

EN — Endangered

Green Sea Turtle

EN — Endangered

Population: ~85.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chola guitarfish	Green Sea Turtle
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	80 years
Average Length	—	1.2 m
Average Weight	—	200.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chola guitarfish

Habitat

Native to South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in Venezuela. 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.

Chola guitarfish

The Chola Guitarfish (Pseudobatos percellens), also called the Southern Guitarfish, is a cartilaginous fish in the family Rhinobatidae (guitarfishes), characterised by a body plan intermediate between sharks and rays — with a flattened, ray-like disc at the front merging into a thick, shark-like tail. The species occurs in shallow coastal waters of the tropical western Atlantic from Venezuela south through Brazil, inhabiting sandy and muddy bottoms in estuaries, bays, and nearshore coastal habitats at depths generally less than 100 metres. Guitarfishes are benthic feeders, using their broad, flat rostrum to excavate sediment and uncover crustaceans, molluscs, and small fish. Like all elasmobranchs, they are ovoviviparous or viviparous, producing small litters of live pups. The IUCN classifies the Chola Guitarfish as Endangered, reflecting severe population declines caused by high levels of bycatch in trawl fisheries throughout its coastal range in Venezuela, Trinidad, and Brazil, combined with direct fishing for meat and fins. Guitarfishes globally are among the most threatened groups of marine vertebrates, with shallow coastal habitats intensively fished and offering little refuge from demersal fishing gear. Without significant reductions in fishing pressure and targeted management measures, continued decline is anticipated.

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.