African elephant vs

Loxodonta africana compared with Clitocybe marginella

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Tricholomataceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Clitocybe
Species	Loxodonta africana	Clitocybe marginella

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	65 years	—
Average Length	6.0 m	—
Average Weight	6.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

African elephant

The largest land animal on Earth, African elephants can reach 7,000 kg and inhabit sub-Saharan savannas, forests, and wetlands. Highly intelligent with complex social structures led by matriarchs, they communicate through infrasound, rumbles, and touch. As ecosystem engineers, they shape habitats by uprooting trees, digging waterholes, and dispersing seeds. Vulnerable, with populations declining due to ivory poaching and habitat loss.

Clitocybe marginella is a small agaric fungus in the family Tricholomataceae found in temperate European woodland and semi-open habitats. Like many members of the diverse Clitocybe genus, it produces modest fruiting bodies with a depressed to funnel-shaped cap and decurrent gills running down the stipe, typically whitish to pale buff in coloration. The species fruits in autumn, colonizing leaf litter, humus-rich soils, and woodland margins where it functions as a saprotrophic decomposer. The epithet marginella may reference subtle marginal features of the cap or gills that help distinguish it from closely related species. Identification within this genus typically requires microscopic examination of spore size and shape, along with assessment of odor, taste, and substrate preferences. European Clitocybe diversity is significant, with dozens of species recorded across forest, grassland, and heathland habitats. C. marginella contributes to the intricate web of decomposer fungi that recycle nutrients in temperate forest ecosystems throughout Northwestern and Central Europe.