Panda Gigante vs

Ailuropoda melanoleuca compared with Coelosphaerium dubium

Key Differences

• Panda Gigante is Vulnerable while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Panda Gigante
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Bacteria (Bacteria)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Cyanobacteria (Cyanobacteria)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Cyanobacteriia
Order	Carnivora (carnívoros)	Cyanobacteriales
Family	Ursidae (Bears)	Microcystaceae
Genus	Ailuropoda (Giant Pandas)	Coelosphaerium
Species	Ailuropoda melanoleuca	Coelosphaerium dubium

Conservation Status

Panda Gigante

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~1.9K

Trend: Increasing ↑

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Panda Gigante
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	20 years	—
Average Length	1.5 m	—
Average Weight	100.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Panda Gigante

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, temperate coniferous forests, and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, among 7 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

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

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Taiwan.

Panda Gigante

El panda gigante (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) es un animal emblemático de China, célebre por su pelaje blanco y negro y su dieta basada casi exclusivamente en bambú. Su estado de conservación es vulnerable (VU), es el animal bandera de la conservación internacional de la vida silvestre, y su población ha experimentado cierta recuperación en los últimos años.

Coelosphaerium dubium is a colonial planktonic cyanobacterium in the family Merismopediaceae, named for the taxonomic uncertainty surrounding its morphological boundaries with related species in the genus. Like its congeners, it forms spherical, gelatinous mucilaginous colonies in which cells are distributed at the periphery of a central hyaline matrix. The genus Coelosphaerium has historically been defined by gross morphological characteristics—colony shape, cell arrangement, and mucilage properties—but molecular phylogenetic analyses have substantially revised understanding of cyanobacterial diversity and systematics within this group. Coelosphaerium dubium has a relatively broad geographic distribution compared to some congeners, with records from freshwater bodies in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Taiwan, suggesting either a wide ecological tolerance or cryptic species diversity within the taxon. It inhabits lentic and slow-flowing freshwater environments, particularly stratified lakes and ponds where thermal and chemical gradients allow cyanobacterial cells equipped with gas vesicles to adjust their buoyancy and optimise light exposure. As a primary producer in these aquatic ecosystems, it contributes to nutrient cycling and forms part of the phytoplankton community grazed by zooplankton. No formal conservation assessment has been undertaken for this species by the IUCN.