Cotton Thistle vs North American porcupine

Onopordum acanthium compared with Erethizon dorsatus

Key Differences

• Cotton Thistle is Endangered while North American porcupine is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cotton Thistle	North American porcupine
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)	Erethizontidae
Genus	Onopordum	Erethizon
Species	Onopordum acanthium	Erethizon dorsatus

Conservation Status

Cotton Thistle

EN — Endangered

North American porcupine

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cotton Thistle	North American porcupine
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.

North American porcupine

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in United States.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇺🇸 United States