Greater dodder vs Lesser Noctule

Cuscuta europaea compared with Nyctalus leisleri

Key Differences

• Greater dodder is Least Concern while Lesser Noctule is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Greater dodder	Lesser Noctule
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Solanales (Solanales)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Convolvulaceae	Vespertilionidae
Genus	Cuscuta	Nyctalus
Species	Cuscuta europaea	Nyctalus leisleri

Conservation Status

Greater dodder

LC — Least Concern

Lesser Noctule

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Greater dodder	Lesser Noctule
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Greater dodder

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Bhutan, Turkey), Europe (5 countries), and North America (United States).

Lesser Noctule

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Sweden, and Ukraine. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden