African Openbill vs Cotton Thistle

Anastomus lamelligerus compared with Onopordum acanthium

Key Differences

• African Openbill is Least Concern while Cotton Thistle is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African Openbill	Cotton Thistle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Ciconiiformes (Ciconiiformes)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Ciconiidae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Anastomus	Onopordum
Species	Anastomus lamelligerus	Onopordum acanthium

Conservation Status

African Openbill

LC — Least Concern

Cotton Thistle

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African Openbill	Cotton Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African Openbill

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Germany, and Norway.

Cotton Thistle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, tundra, and tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, among 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Georgia, India, Japan), Europe (22 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

African Openbill

The African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is a species in the genus Anastomus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇴 Norway