Chinese Pangolin vs Cotton Thistle

Manis pentadactyla compared with Onopordum acanthium

Key Differences

• Chinese Pangolin is Critically Endangered while Cotton Thistle is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chinese Pangolin	Cotton Thistle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Pholidota (Pholidota)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Manidae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Manis	Onopordum
Species	Manis pentadactyla	Onopordum acanthium

Conservation Status

Chinese Pangolin

CR — Critically Endangered

Cotton Thistle

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chinese Pangolin	Cotton Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chinese Pangolin

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Cotton Thistle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, tundra, and tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, among 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Georgia, India, Japan), Europe (22 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Chinese Pangolin

The Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) is a species in the genus Manis. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.