Common Button Lichen vs Ontong Java Flying Fox

Buellia erubescens compared with Pteropus howensis

Key Differences

• Common Button Lichen is Not Evaluated while Ontong Java Flying Fox is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Button Lichen	Ontong Java Flying Fox
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Caliciales (Caliciales)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Caliciaceae	Pteropodidae (Fruit Bats)
Genus	Buellia	Pteropus (Flying Foxes)
Species	Buellia erubescens	Pteropus howensis

Conservation Status

Common Button Lichen

NE — Not Evaluated

Ontong Java Flying Fox

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Button Lichen	Ontong Java Flying Fox
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.

Ontong Java Flying Fox

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.