Floating Fern vs Komodo Dragon

Salvinia nymphellula compared with Varanus komodoensis

Key Differences

Floating Fern is Least Concern while Komodo Dragon is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Floating Fern	Komodo Dragon
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Reptilia (Reptiles)
Order	Salviniales (Salviniales)	Squamata (Lizards & Snakes)
Family	Salviniaceae	Varanidae (Monitor Lizards)
Genus	Salvinia	Varanus (Monitor Lizards)
Species	Salvinia nymphellula	Varanus komodoensis

Conservation Status

Floating Fern

LC — Least Concern

Komodo Dragon

EN — Endangered

Population: ~3.5K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Floating Fern	Komodo Dragon
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	30 years
Average Length	—	2.6 m
Average Weight	—	70.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Floating Fern

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Cote d'Ivoire and Malawi.

Komodo Dragon

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 4 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Indonesia. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.