Clinging Snakefern vs Polynesian rat

Microgramma heterophylla compared with Rattus exulans

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clinging Snakefern	Polynesian rat
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Polypodiaceae	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus	Microgramma	Rattus
Species	Microgramma heterophylla	Rattus exulans

Conservation Status

Clinging Snakefern

LC — Least Concern

Polynesian rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clinging Snakefern	Polynesian rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Clinging Snakefern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Found in Cuba.

Polynesian rat

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 4 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (6 countries), Europe (United Kingdom), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (11 countries), and South America (Chile).

Clinging Snakefern

Clinging Snakefern, Microgramma species, is a genus of small epiphytic ferns in the family Polypodiaceae found in tropical and subtropical forests of the Americas, from Florida and the Caribbean through Central America to South America. The ferns cling tightly to tree bark and rock surfaces using creeping rhizomes with specialized clinging scales, making them true epiphytes that depend entirely on the host surface for physical support while deriving all their water and nutrients from rainfall and atmospheric deposition. The common name 'snakefern' refers to the slender, creeping rhizomes that resemble snakes threading through moss and bark. The fronds are small and simple, either entirely fertile bearing sori on their undersurface or sterile with entire margins. Clinging snakeferns contribute to the high epiphyte diversity of tropical forest canopies and are important components of the moss-and-lichen matrix on tree trunks in humid forests. They are sensitive to moisture availability and desiccation and are among the first species to decline when humid forest is cleared or fragmented. Several Microgramma species are used as ornamental plants in warm-climate gardens for their ability to creep over rocks and tree stumps. Conservation status varies by species within the genus.