Common Ink Cap vs Polar bear

Coprinopsis atramentaria compared with Ursus maritimus

Key Differences

Common Ink Cap is Least Concern while Polar bear is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Ink Cap	Polar bear
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)	Carnivora (Carnivorans)
Family	Psathyrellaceae	Ursidae (Bears)
Genus	Coprinopsis	Ursus (Bears)
Species	Coprinopsis atramentaria	Ursus maritimus

Conservation Status

Common Ink Cap

LC — Least Concern

Polar bear

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~26.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Ink Cap	Polar bear
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	25 years
Average Length	—	2.4 m
Average Weight	—	450.0 kg

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).

Polar bear

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and boreal forests and taiga, among 4 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Norway. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.

Polar bear

The largest land carnivore on Earth, polar bears can exceed 700 kg and are found across Arctic sea ice from Canada to Russia. Highly specialized marine mammals that rely on sea ice to hunt ringed and bearded seals. Excellent swimmers capable of covering vast distances in open water. Listed as Vulnerable, with populations under severe pressure from rapid Arctic sea ice loss due to climate change.