African elephant vs Common Pinmould

Loxodonta africana compared with Mucor mucedo

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while Common Pinmould is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Common Pinmould
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Mucoromycota (Mucoromycota)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mucoromycetes (Mucoromycetes)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Mucorales (Mucorales)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Mucoraceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Mucor
Species	Loxodonta africana	Mucor mucedo

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Common Pinmould

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Common Pinmould
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.

Common Pinmould

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, and Norway.

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.

Common Pinmould

<em>Mucor mucedo</em>, the common pin mould, is a zygomycete fungus in the family Mucoraceae, belonging to one of the earliest-diverging lineages of terrestrial fungi. It is characterised by long, unbranched sporangiophores topped with spherical, pin-like sporangia that release large numbers of asexual spores, giving infested substrates a grey or white mouldy appearance. The species is a saprotrophic decomposer, typically colonising dung, soil, decaying organic matter, and stored food products, where it plays a role in nutrient cycling and organic matter breakdown. <em>Mucor mucedo</em> is distributed across Europe, with records from Belgium, Denmark, and Norway, and in South America including Brazil, and is likely cosmopolitan given the ease with which its spores disperse through the air. It is assessed as Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List, as fungal conservation assessments remain incomplete globally. Sexual reproduction involves the fusion of compatible mating types to produce resistant zygospores. Biological traits such as colony growth rates under standardised conditions, typical biomass production, and detailed ecological roles beyond general decomposition remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. The species is non-pathogenic to healthy humans but may cause opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals.