Common cattle grub vs Westlicher Gorilla

Hypoderma lineatum compared with Gorilla gorilla

Key Differences

• Common cattle grub is Extinct while Westlicher Gorilla is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common cattle grub	Westlicher Gorilla
Kingdom same	Animalia (Tier)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Gliederfüßer)	Chordata (Chordatiere)
Class	Insecta (Insekten)	Mammalia (Säugetiere)
Order	Diptera (Zweiflügler)	Primates (Primaten)
Family	Oestridae	Hominidae (Great Apes)
Genus	Hypoderma	Gorilla (Gorillas)
Species	Hypoderma lineatum	Gorilla gorilla

Evolutionary Relationship

Common cattle grub and Westlicher Gorilla share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Tier)

Conservation Status

Common cattle grub

EX — Extinct

Westlicher Gorilla

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common cattle grub	Westlicher Gorilla
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	40 years
Average Length	—	1.7 m
Average Weight	—	160.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common cattle grub

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Japan, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Westlicher Gorilla

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 4 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Cameroon, Congo (Republic), Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common cattle grub

<em>Hypoderma lineatum</em>, commonly known as the common cattle grub, is a parasitic fly species with documented occurrences in Japan, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. It typically inhabited terrestrial and freshwater environments, often associated with cattle and other large ungulates on which its larvae develop as subcutaneous parasites. The species is classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List, indicating that it is no longer known to exist in the wild. Common cattle grub belongs to the genus <em>Hypoderma</em> within the family Oestridae. Adult flies do not feed and are short-lived, while larvae burrow under the skin of host animals, causing a condition known as hypodermosis or warble fly infestation. The decline and extinction of this species has been linked to widespread and highly effective veterinary treatment programs targeting warble fly larvae in cattle, which drastically reduced host populations and ultimately eliminated the species. Biological traits such as average lifespan, body length, and mass of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Westlicher Gorilla

The world's largest primate, western gorillas weigh up to 180 kg and inhabit the tropical and subtropical forests of equatorial Africa. Primarily herbivorous, living in family groups led by a silverback male who protects the troop and mediates social conflicts. Critically Endangered, with populations threatened by deforestation, poaching for bushmeat, and outbreaks of Ebola virus disease.