Elefante de Sabana vs Common ray

Loxodonta africana compared with Telatrygon biasa

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Elefante de Sabana	Common ray
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (cordados)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Elasmobranchii
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Myliobatiformes (Myliobatiformes)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Dasyatidae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Telatrygon
Species	Loxodonta africana	Telatrygon biasa

Evolutionary Relationship

Elefante de Sabana and Common ray share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (cordados)

Conservation Status

Elefante de Sabana

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Common ray

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Elefante de Sabana	Common ray
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.

Common ray

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.

Common ray

<em>Telatrygon biasa</em>, the common ray, is a cartilaginous fish in the family Dasyatidae, order Myliobatiformes, belonging to the broader class Chondrichthyes. The species is assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, indicating elevated concern over population viability. Common rays are demersal elasmobranchs typically found in shallow coastal and inshore marine habitats, resting on sandy or muddy substrates. Like other dasyatid stingrays, <em>Telatrygon biasa</em> typically feeds on benthic invertebrates including crustaceans, mollusks, and worms, which it detects using electroreceptive ampullae of Lorenzini. It typically moves by undulating its broad pectoral disc, a hallmark locomotion style of stingrays. The vulnerable status of this species likely reflects pressures from bycatch in coastal fisheries and habitat degradation, which are common threats for inshore ray species across the Indo-Pacific region. Biological traits such as lifespan, precise body measurements, and detailed diet composition remain poorly documented for this taxon, and further field research is needed to characterize population structure and reproductive ecology. Conservation measures targeting bycatch reduction in artisanal and commercial fisheries would benefit this species.