Cotton Thistle vs Gray Red-backed Vole

Onopordum acanthium compared with Myodes rufocanus

Key Differences

• Cotton Thistle is Endangered while Gray Red-backed Vole is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cotton Thistle	Gray Red-backed Vole
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Cricetidae
Genus	Onopordum	Myodes
Species	Onopordum acanthium	Myodes rufocanus

Conservation Status

Cotton Thistle

EN — Endangered

Gray Red-backed Vole

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cotton Thistle	Gray Red-backed Vole
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cotton Thistle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, tundra, and tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, among 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Georgia, India, Japan), Europe (22 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia, New Zealand), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Gray Red-backed Vole

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Norway.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway