Cotton Thistle vs Harmless Serotine

Onopordum acanthium compared with Eptesicus innoxius

Key Differences

• Cotton Thistle is Endangered while Harmless Serotine is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cotton Thistle	Harmless Serotine
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Vespertilionidae
Genus	Onopordum	Eptesicus
Species	Onopordum acanthium	Eptesicus innoxius

Conservation Status

Cotton Thistle

EN — Endangered

Harmless Serotine

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cotton Thistle	Harmless Serotine
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.

Harmless Serotine

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Ecuador. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.