Black-Staining Polypore vs Scarlet Macaw

Meripilus sumstinei compared with Ara macao

Key Differences

Black-Staining Polypore is Not Evaluated while Scarlet Macaw is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black-Staining Polypore	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Polyporales (Polyporales)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Meripilaceae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Meripilus	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Meripilus sumstinei	Ara macao

Conservation Status

Black-Staining Polypore

NE — Not Evaluated

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black-Staining Polypore	Scarlet Macaw
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	85 cm
Average Weight	—	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-Staining Polypore

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Norway and United States.

Scarlet Macaw

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Population trends indicate a declining trajectory in parts of its range.

Black-Staining Polypore

The Black-Staining Polypore (Meripilus sumstinei) is a species in the genus Meripilus. Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

One of the most brilliantly colored birds in the Americas, scarlet macaws display vivid red, yellow, and blue plumage with wingspans reaching 1 meter. Found in humid lowland forests from Mexico to Bolivia, they are highly intelligent, long-lived — up to 75 years — and form lifelong pair bonds. They travel long distances to clay licks where they consume mineral-rich soil to detoxify seeds. Listed as Least Concern but locally threatened by habitat loss and the pet trade.