vs Red-billed Duck

Cliostomum leprosum compared with Anas erythrorhyncha

Key Differences

is Vulnerable while Red-billed Duck is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Red-billed Duck
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lecanorales (Lecanorales)	Anseriformes (Anseriformes)
Family	Ramalinaceae	Anatidae
Genus	Cliostomum	Anas
Species	Cliostomum leprosum	Anas erythrorhyncha

Conservation Status

VU — Vulnerable

Red-billed Duck

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		Red-billed Duck
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Norway, Sweden, and United States. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Red-billed Duck

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries) and South America (Ecuador).

Cliostomum leprosum is a crustose lichen-forming fungus in the family Ramalinaceae, notable for its powdery, leprose thallus that gives it a granular, mealy appearance on bark and wood substrates. Unlike many lichens that form well-defined, structured thalli, C. leprosum produces a loosely coherent sorediose crust ranging from pale greenish-grey to whitish, often colonizing deeply shaded, moist bark on deciduous and coniferous trees. The species is distributed across boreal and temperate forests of Europe and North America, with confirmed records from Norway, Sweden, and scattered locations in the United States. It photosynthesizes in partnership with green algal partners typical of crustose lichens. Cliostomum leprosum is assessed as Vulnerable due to its sensitivity to air pollution, particularly sulfur dioxide and nitrogen compounds that degrade lichen communities. Its decline is linked to habitat loss from intensive forestry, removal of veteran trees, and acidic deposition. Conservation efforts focus on preserving old-growth and semi-natural forest stands that provide suitable, low-disturbance bark microhabitats where this inconspicuous but ecologically significant lichen can persist.

Red-billed Duck

Red-billed Duck (Anas erythrorhyncha) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.