Common Ink Cap vs Hector’s Beaked Whale

Coprinopsis atramentaria compared with Mesoplodon hectori

Key Differences

• Common Ink Cap is Least Concern while Hector’s Beaked Whale is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Ink Cap	Hector’s Beaked Whale
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Psathyrellaceae	Hyperoodontidae
Genus	Coprinopsis	Mesoplodon
Species	Coprinopsis atramentaria	Mesoplodon hectori

Conservation Status

Common Ink Cap

LC — Least Concern

Hector’s Beaked Whale

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Ink Cap	Hector’s Beaked Whale
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Ink Cap

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), and North America (United States).

Hector’s Beaked Whale

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Common Ink Cap

<em>Coprinopsis atramentaria</em>, commonly known as the common ink cap, is a saprotrophic fungus in the family Psathyrellaceae. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with a distribution spanning Asia (including Taiwan), Europe, and North America. The species typically grows on forest floors, buried wood, stumps, and other decomposing woody substrates in temperate regions. As a saprotroph, it plays an important ecological role in breaking down organic matter. The common ink cap is notable for containing coprine, a compound that inhibits aldehyde dehydrogenase and causes unpleasant reactions when consumed with alcohol. Diet information for this species is not available in current records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.