Elefante de Sabana vs Coalman

Loxodonta africana compared with Tricholoma portentosum

Key Differences

Elefante de Sabana is Vulnerable while Coalman is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Elefante de Sabana	Coalman
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Tricholomataceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Tricholoma
Species	Loxodonta africana	Tricholoma portentosum

Conservation Status

Elefante de Sabana

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Coalman

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Elefante de Sabana	Coalman
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	65 years	—
Average Length	6.0 m	—
Average Weight	6.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Elefante de Sabana

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 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

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

Coalman

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

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

Elefante de Sabana

El elefante africano, el animal terrestre más grande de la Tierra, puede alcanzar 7.000 kg y habita sabanas, bosques y humedales del África subsahariana. Con estructuras sociales complejas lideradas por matriarcas, se comunica mediante infrasonidos, rugidos y contacto físico. Como ingeniero del ecosistema, modela su hábitat arrancando árboles, excavando aguadas y dispersando semillas. Está catalogado como Vulnerable, con poblaciones en declive por la caza furtiva de marfil y la pérdida de hábitat.

Coalman

Tricholoma portentosum, commonly called the coalman or soapy knight, is a large, prized edible mushroom in the family Tricholomataceae forming ectomycorrhizal associations with conifers, especially pines and spruces, across temperate forests of Europe and North America. The fruiting body features a grey to blackish fibrous cap 6–12 centimeters in diameter with a wavy, often undulating margin, white to pale yellow gills with a slightly soapy odour, and a white stem with grey streaks. It typically fruits in autumn in pine forests and mixed coniferous-deciduous woodland, where its underground mycorrhizal network supports tree health and nutrient uptake. Tricholoma portentosum is considered a fine edible species in several European countries, particularly in Spain, Poland, and Italy, where it is collected commercially and sold in markets. The genus Tricholoma contains numerous similar grey or silvery species, making field identification challenging and requiring careful attention to habitat, odour, and microscopic features. The species is classified as Data Deficient by the IUCN, reflecting insufficient baseline population data to determine whether it is declining. Broader declines in fruiting body abundance of ectomycorrhizal fungi across Europe have been documented through long-term monitoring, attributed primarily to atmospheric nitrogen deposition altering forest nitrogen dynamics.