Polar bear vs wall scalewort

Ursus maritimus compared with Porella platyphylla

Key Differences

Polar bear is Vulnerable while wall scalewort is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Polar bear	wall scalewort
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Marchantiophyta (liverwort)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Jungermanniopsida (Jungermanniopsida)
Order	Carnivora (Carnivorans)	Porellales (Porellales)
Family	Ursidae (Bears)	Porellaceae
Genus	Ursus (Bears)	Porella
Species	Ursus maritimus	Porella platyphylla

Conservation Status

Polar bear

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~26.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

wall scalewort

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Polar bear	wall scalewort
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	25 years	—
Average Length	2.4 m	—
Average Weight	450.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Polar bear

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and boreal forests and taiga, among 4 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

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

wall scalewort

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

Polar bear

The largest land carnivore on Earth, polar bears can exceed 700 kg and are found across Arctic sea ice from Canada to Russia. Highly specialized marine mammals that rely on sea ice to hunt ringed and bearded seals. Excellent swimmers capable of covering vast distances in open water. Listed as Vulnerable, with populations under severe pressure from rapid Arctic sea ice loss due to climate change.