Marley’s Golden Mole vs slender thistle

Amblysomus marleyi compared with Carduus tenuiflorus

Key Differences

• Marley’s Golden Mole is Endangered while slender thistle is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Marley’s Golden Mole	slender thistle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Afrosoricida (Afrosoricida)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Chrysochloridae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Amblysomus	Carduus
Species	Amblysomus marleyi	Carduus tenuiflorus

Conservation Status

Marley’s Golden Mole

EN — Endangered

slender thistle

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Marley’s Golden Mole	slender thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Marley’s Golden Mole

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

slender thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Japan), Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.