Common Pin Spiderhead vs Olive-gray Thomasomys

Serruria fasciflora compared with Thomasomys cinereus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Pin Spiderhead	Olive-gray Thomasomys
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Proteales (Proteales)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Proteaceae	Cricetidae
Genus	Serruria	Thomasomys
Species	Serruria fasciflora	Thomasomys cinereus

Conservation Status

Common Pin Spiderhead

LC — Least Concern

Olive-gray Thomasomys

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Pin Spiderhead	Olive-gray Thomasomys
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Pin Spiderhead

Habitat

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

Olive-gray Thomasomys

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Ecuador.

Common Pin Spiderhead

<em>Serruria fasciflora</em>, the common pin spiderhead, is a shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa, one of the world's most species-rich botanical hotspots. It produces delicate, feathery flowerheads with slender bracts and small florets arranged in a clustered inflorescence that gives the plant its evocative common name. Like other members of the genus Serruria, it is adapted to the nutrient-poor, acidic, well-drained soils of the fynbos biome, where it coexists with a highly diverse array of flowering plants and depends on specialised pollinators including bees and flies. <em>Serruria fasciflora</em> is fire-adapted in accordance with the natural disturbance regime of fynbos, typically regenerating from seed following periodic burns. The species is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, though the broader fynbos biome faces significant pressures from invasive alien plants, agricultural conversion, urban sprawl, and inappropriate fire management. Biological traits such as average plant lifespan, typical shrub dimensions, and detailed reproductive biology remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. Conservation of the species depends on the maintenance of intact, functioning fynbos habitat across the Cape Floristic Region.