African elephant vs

Loxodonta africana compared with Cobetia amphilecti

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Bacteria (Bacteria)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Proteobacteria (Proteobacteria)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Gammaproteobacteria (Gammaproteobacteria)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Pseudomonadales (Pseudomonadales)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Halomonadaceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Cobetia
Species	Loxodonta africana	Cobetia amphilecti

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

NE — Not Evaluated

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

Native to Asia, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in Taiwan.

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.

Cobetia amphilecti is a halophilic, gram-negative bacterium belonging to the family Halomonadaceae within the class Gammaproteobacteria. First characterized from marine and saline environments, this aerobic rod-shaped organism thrives in conditions of elevated salinity that would inhibit the growth of most other bacteria. Like other members of the genus Cobetia, it possesses a sophisticated osmotic stress response system that accumulates compatible solutes—primarily ectoine and hydroxyectoine—to balance intracellular osmotic pressure against hypersaline surroundings. Cobetia amphilecti has been isolated from coastal marine sediments and saline water samples across the Indo-Pacific region, with documented collections from Taiwanese coastal habitats. The organism is motile by means of a single polar flagellum and is capable of utilizing a broad range of organic compounds as sole carbon and energy sources, including various carbohydrates and amino acids. Its metabolic versatility allows it to occupy diverse niches in marine biogeochemical cycles, particularly in the degradation of organic matter in high-salinity environments. As a member of Halomonadaceae, Cobetia amphilecti is of biotechnological interest for its production of ectoine, a commercially valuable extremolyte used in cosmetics and pharmaceuticals for its cellular protective properties. The species has not been formally assessed for conservation status by the IUCN.