Brown Cobblestone Lichen vs Coastal stingaree

Acarospora fuscata compared with Urolophus orarius

Key Differences

• Brown Cobblestone Lichen is Least Concern while Coastal stingaree is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Cobblestone Lichen	Coastal stingaree
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)	Elasmobranchii
Order	Acarosporales (Acarosporales)	Myliobatiformes (Myliobatiformes)
Family	Acarosporaceae	Urolophidae
Genus	Acarospora	Urolophus
Species	Acarospora fuscata	Urolophus orarius

Conservation Status

Brown Cobblestone Lichen

LC — Least Concern

Coastal stingaree

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Cobblestone Lichen	Coastal stingaree
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Cobblestone Lichen

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and United States.

Coastal stingaree

Brown Cobblestone Lichen

The Brown Cobblestone Lichen (Acarospora fuscata) is a species in the genus Acarospora. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Coastal stingaree

Coastal stingaree (Urolophus orarius) is a small batoid ray in the family Urolophidae, endemic to shallow coastal waters of southern Australia, particularly along the coasts of South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania. Like other stingarees, it has a rounded disc, a short tail armed with one or two venomous spines, and lacks a distinct rostrum. It inhabits sandy and muddy nearshore substrates in depths typically less than 30 metres, where it forages for polychaete worms, crustaceans, and small molluscs buried in the seabed. Females are ovoviviparous, giving birth to small litters of live young following internal development. Coastal stingaree is assessed as Endangered by the IUCN, driven by its restricted range, slow reproductive rate, and significant bycatch in inshore commercial and recreational fisheries operating across southern Australian coastal waters. Bottom trawling, prawn trawling, and gillnetting are identified as major threats. The species receives limited targeted conservation attention and is not currently the subject of specific fisheries management measures. Its small home range and coastal distribution make it especially vulnerable to localised fishery impacts.