Common Button Lichen vs Gray-bellied Rice Rat

Buellia erubescens compared with Nephelomys moerex

Key Differences

• Common Button Lichen is Not Evaluated while Gray-bellied Rice Rat is Extinct.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Button Lichen	Gray-bellied Rice Rat
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Caliciales (Caliciales)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Caliciaceae	Cricetidae
Genus	Buellia	Nephelomys
Species	Buellia erubescens	Nephelomys moerex

Conservation Status

Common Button Lichen

NE — Not Evaluated

Gray-bellied Rice Rat

EX — Extinct

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Button Lichen	Gray-bellied Rice Rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Button Lichen

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Taiwan, and United States.

Gray-bellied Rice Rat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Ecuador.

Common Button Lichen

<em>Buellia erubescens</em>, commonly known as the common button lichen, is a lichen species with documented occurrences across Asia, Europe, and North America, including countries such as Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Taiwan, and the United States. It typically colonizes diverse terrestrial surfaces, often found on bark, rock, or other substrates in temperate and boreal environments. Common button lichen belongs to the genus <em>Buellia</em> within the family Caliciaceae. As a crustose lichen, it typically forms tightly adhered, crust-like thalli on the surfaces it colonizes, making it characteristic of stable, undisturbed substrates. Biological traits such as average lifespan, thallus size, and biomass of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. The species has not yet been formally evaluated by the IUCN, and its global conservation status therefore remains undetermined. Its occurrence across multiple continents suggests a wide ecological tolerance, though detailed population data and trend assessments are currently lacking for this taxon.