Comoro Flying Fox vs Onion Earthball

Pteropus livingstonii compared with Scleroderma cepa

Key Differences

Comoro Flying Fox is Critically Endangered while Onion Earthball is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Comoro Flying Fox	Onion Earthball
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Boletales (Boletales)
Family	Pteropodidae (Fruit Bats)	Sclerodermataceae
Genus	Pteropus (Flying Foxes)	Scleroderma
Species	Pteropus livingstonii	Scleroderma cepa

Conservation Status

Comoro Flying Fox

CR — Critically Endangered

Onion Earthball

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Comoro Flying Fox	Onion Earthball
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Comoro Flying Fox

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Onion Earthball

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (6 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

Comoro Flying Fox

<em>Pteropus livingstonii</em>, the Comoro flying fox or Livingstone's fruit bat, is a large fruit bat in the family Pteropodidae, endemic to the Comoro Islands in the western Indian Ocean, where it is restricted to Anjouan and Mohéli. It is one of the largest bats in the world, with a wingspan that can exceed one meter and a body weight reportedly ranging between 400–700 g. The species roosts colonially in tall native forest trees, particularly in humid upland forest fragments, and feeds on a variety of native fruits, nectar, and pollen, playing a critical role as a seed disperser and pollinator in Comoran forest ecosystems. Precise average lifespan data in the wild remain poorly documented, though captive individuals have lived over 20 years. <em>Pteropus livingstonii</em> is assessed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, making it one of the most threatened bat species in the world. Primary threats include extensive deforestation driven by agricultural expansion and charcoal production, which has severely reduced suitable roosting and foraging habitat, along with historic hunting. Conservation efforts include habitat protection, community education programs, and captive breeding initiatives at several European zoos coordinated through an international species survival program.