vs Polyphyllous Globe Thistle

Chroococcus westii compared with Echinops foliosus

Key Differences

• is Not Evaluated while Polyphyllous Globe Thistle is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Polyphyllous Globe Thistle
Kingdom	Bacteria (Bacteria)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Cyanobacteria (Cyanobacteria)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Cyanobacteriia	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Cyanobacteriales	Afrosoricida (Afrosoricida)
Family	Microcystaceae	Tenrecidae
Genus	Chroococcus	Echinops
Species	Chroococcus westii	Echinops foliosus

Conservation Status

NE — Not Evaluated

Polyphyllous Globe Thistle

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		Polyphyllous Globe Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

Polyphyllous Globe Thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Chroococcus westii is a species of cyanobacteria in the family Chroococcaceae, likely named in honor of a naturalist or phycologist named West, following the common nineteenth and early twentieth century tradition of naming newly described microorganisms after prominent researchers in the field. The species belongs to a genus of simple, spherical cyanobacteria that occur in pairs or small groups within gelatinous sheaths in freshwater and aquatic environments. Chroococcus westii has been documented from freshwater habitats, contributing to the cyanobacterial diversity of lakes, pools, and associated periphyton communities. Cyanobacteria of the Chroococcaceae are among the foundational components of freshwater microbial ecosystems, contributing to primary production, biofilm formation, and in some lineages, biological nitrogen fixation. The taxonomy of the genus Chroococcus has undergone revision through the application of modern molecular phylogenetic methods, which have revealed that morphologically similar coccoid cyanobacteria can be phylogenetically distant, suggesting the need for further taxonomic work. Chroococcus westii is a relatively obscure species documented primarily in classical phycological literature. It has not received formal IUCN assessment.