Coelacanth vs Fly Agaric

Latimeria chalumnae compared with Amanita muscaria

Key Differences

Coelacanth is Critically Endangered while Fly Agaric is Least Concern.
Coelacanth is carnivore while Fly Agaric is decomposer.
Coelacanth is 800.0x heavier than Fly Agaric.
Coelacanth lives longer (100 years vs 1 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coelacanth	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Coelacanthi (Coelacanthi)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Coelacanthiformes (Coelacanthiformes)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Latimeriidae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Latimeria	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Latimeria chalumnae	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Coelacanth

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~500

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coelacanth	Fly Agaric
Diet	Carnivore	Decomposer
Average Lifespan	100 years	1 years
Average Length	1.8 m	20 cm
Average Weight	80.0 kg	100 g

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coelacanth

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Afrotropic and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Comoros, Indonesia, Mozambique, and South Africa. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Fly Agaric

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia).

Coelacanth

A living fossil thought extinct for 65 million years until rediscovered off South Africa in 1938, coelacanths can reach 2 meters and 90 kg. They belong to an ancient lobe-finned lineage more closely related to tetrapods than to ray-finned fish, making them scientifically invaluable for understanding vertebrate evolution. Found in deep rocky reef habitats of the Indian Ocean, they are nocturnal and undergo internal fertilization, giving birth to fully formed live young. Critically Endangered.

Fly Agaric

Among the most iconic and recognizable fungi on Earth, fly agaric mushrooms display striking red caps with white flecked warts across boreal forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Despite their fairy-tale appearance, they contain potent psychoactive compounds including muscimol and ibotenic acid and are moderately toxic. They form critical mycorrhizal symbioses with birch, pine, and spruce trees, exchanging mineral nutrients for carbon and playing essential roles in boreal forest nutrient cycling.