Australian waterbuttons vs Cheetah

Cotula australis compared with Acinonyx jubatus

Key Differences

• Australian waterbuttons is Not Evaluated while Cheetah is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Australian waterbuttons	Cheetah
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Carnivora (Carnivorans)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Cotula	Acinonyx (Cheetahs)
Species	Cotula australis	Acinonyx jubatus

Conservation Status

Australian waterbuttons

NE — Not Evaluated

Cheetah

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~6.7K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Australian waterbuttons	Cheetah
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	12 years
Average Length	—	1.5 m
Average Weight	—	50.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Australian waterbuttons

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including flooded grasslands and savannas, deserts and xeric shrublands, and mangrove forests and coastal wetlands within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Madagascar, South Africa), Asia (4 countries), Europe (10 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), and South America (6 countries).

Cheetah

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 9 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Botswana, Iran, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Australian waterbuttons

The Australian waterbuttons (Cotula australis) is a species in the genus Cotula. Found across multiple habitat types including flooded grasslands and savannas, deserts and xeric shrublands, and mangrove forests and coastal wetlands within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Cheetah

The fastest land animal on Earth, reaching speeds of 112 km/h over short distances across African and Iranian grasslands. Slender build with a deep chest, long legs, and distinctive black tear-stripe markings. Unlike other big cats, cheetahs vocalize with chirps and purrs. Vulnerable, with only ~7,000 remaining due to habitat fragmentation and competition with larger predators.