Common brassbuttons vs Gambian Sun Squirrel

Cotula coronopifolia compared with Heliosciurus gambianus

Key Differences

• Common brassbuttons is Not Evaluated while Gambian Sun Squirrel is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common brassbuttons	Gambian Sun Squirrel
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Sciuridae (Squirrels)
Genus	Cotula	Heliosciurus
Species	Cotula coronopifolia	Heliosciurus gambianus

Conservation Status

Common brassbuttons

NE — Not Evaluated

Gambian Sun Squirrel

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common brassbuttons	Gambian Sun Squirrel
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common brassbuttons

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Morocco), Asia (Japan), Europe (15 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), and South America (6 countries).

Gambian Sun Squirrel

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Common brassbuttons

Common brassbuttons (<em>Cotula coronopifolia</em>) is a small annual or perennial herb with a remarkably broad global distribution, occurring across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. This species typically inhabits diverse terrestrial environments, often colonizing wet or damp areas such as salt marshes, mudflats, stream margins, and disturbed roadsides. The common brassbuttons has not been formally evaluated on the IUCN Red List. A member of the family Asteraceae, it produces distinctive button-like yellow flowerheads that give the species its common name. Originally native to southern Africa, the species has spread widely and is considered naturalized or invasive in many regions outside its native range. It often thrives in seasonally flooded habitats and tolerates saline soils, demonstrating considerable ecological flexibility. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.