Autumn Snowflake vs Coelacanth

Acis autumnalis compared with Latimeria chalumnae

Key Differences

• Autumn Snowflake is Least Concern while Coelacanth is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Autumn Snowflake	Coelacanth
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Coelacanthi (Coelacanthi)
Order	Asparagales (Asparagales)	Coelacanthiformes (Coelacanthiformes)
Family	Amaryllidaceae	Latimeriidae
Genus	Acis	Latimeria
Species	Acis autumnalis	Latimeria chalumnae

Conservation Status

Autumn Snowflake

LC — Least Concern

Coelacanth

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~500

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Autumn Snowflake	Coelacanth
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	100 years
Average Length	—	1.8 m
Average Weight	—	80.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Autumn Snowflake

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Found in Norway.

Coelacanth

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Afrotropic and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Comoros, Indonesia, Mozambique, and South Africa. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Autumn Snowflake

The Autumn Snowflake (Acis autumnalis) is a species in the genus Acis. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Coelacanth

A living fossil thought extinct for 65 million years until rediscovered off South Africa in 1938, coelacanths can reach 2 meters and 90 kg. They belong to an ancient lobe-finned lineage more closely related to tetrapods than to ray-finned fish, making them scientifically invaluable for understanding vertebrate evolution. Found in deep rocky reef habitats of the Indian Ocean, they are nocturnal and undergo internal fertilization, giving birth to fully formed live young. Critically Endangered.