American Bald Eagle vs

Haliaeetus leucocephalus compared with Chrysolykos planctonicus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Bald Eagle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Chromista (Chromista)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ochrophyta (Ochrophyta)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Chrysophyceae (Chrysophyceae)
Order	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)	Chromulinales (Chromulinales)
Family	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Dinobryaceae
Genus	Haliaeetus (Sea Eagles)	Chrysolykos
Species	Haliaeetus leucocephalus	Chrysolykos planctonicus

Conservation Status

American Bald Eagle

NE — Not Evaluated

Population: ~316.7K

Trend: Increasing ↑

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Bald Eagle
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	28 years	—
Average Length	90 cm	—
Average Weight	5.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

American Bald Eagle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 10 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (8 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Ecuador).

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

American Bald Eagle

The national bird of the United States and a symbol of American conservation success, bald eagles have a wingspan of up to 2.4 meters and inhabit forests and wetlands near open water across North America. Powerful aerial predators and scavengers, they specialize in fish but also take waterfowl and carrion. Nearly extinct by the 1960s due to DDT poisoning and hunting, the bald eagle recovered dramatically following pesticide bans and the Endangered Species Act.

Chrysolykos planctonicus is a planktonic chrysophyte flagellate in the genus Chrysolykos, a small genus of loricate or semi-loricate golden algae in the class Chrysophyceae. Like other Chrysolykos species, it inhabits the open water column of freshwater lakes and ponds, where its planktonic lifestyle is reflected in the specific epithet planctonicus. The cell is typically enclosed in a lorica or cellulose housing that may be less rigid than those of Chrysococcus species, with a flagellum extending through an apical pore. Chrysolykos species are photosynthetic and potentially mixotrophic, using chlorophylls a and c and fucoxanthin-type carotenoids for light energy capture. The genus is documented from Scandinavian freshwaters and other northern temperate lakes, where chrysophytes are often the dominant flagellated algae in spring and early summer. C. planctonicus contributes to primary production in oligotrophic and mesotrophic lake systems. The species has not been evaluated for conservation status by the IUCN and is listed as Not Evaluated. Chrysolykos is a less-studied genus than Chrysococcus or Mallomonas, and its ecology and phylogeny remain incompletely characterized.