Ciliate Crystalwort vs Gorila Occidental

Riccia crozalsii compared with Gorilla gorilla

Key Differences

Ciliate Crystalwort is Vulnerable while Gorila Occidental is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Ciliate Crystalwort	Gorila Occidental
Kingdom	Plantae (planta)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Marchantiophyta (liverwort)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Marchantiopsida (Marchantiopsida)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Marchantiales (Marchantiales)	Primates (Primates)
Family	Ricciaceae	Hominidae (Great Apes)
Genus	Riccia	Gorilla (Gorillas)
Species	Riccia crozalsii	Gorilla gorilla

Conservation Status

Ciliate Crystalwort

VU — Vulnerable

Gorila Occidental

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Ciliate Crystalwort	Gorila Occidental
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	40 years
Average Length	—	1.7 m
Average Weight	—	160.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Ciliate Crystalwort

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Luxembourg, Norway, and Portugal. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Gorila Occidental

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.

Ciliate Crystalwort

Ciliate crystalwort (Riccia crozalsii) is a thalloid liverwort in the family Ricciaceae, classified as Vulnerable in Europe. It grows as a flat, strap-like or rosette-forming thallus, typically in damp, disturbed or ephemeral habitats such as the margins of seasonal pools, rutted tracks, and temporarily flooded ground with sparse vegetation cover. The species is characterized by thallus margins fringed with fine cilia-like teeth, which give it its common name. Riccia crozalsii is found in Mediterranean and Atlantic regions of Europe, with records from Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, and parts of the British Isles, though populations are generally sparse and localized. It tends to appear in winter and spring when suitable wet conditions prevail, and the thallus desiccates or disappears during dry summer months. The species is assessed as Vulnerable due to the loss and degradation of its specialized ephemeral wetland habitats, driven by drainage, agricultural intensification, and altered hydrological regimes across Europe. As with many liverworts dependent on wet, open habitats, Riccia crozalsii has experienced declines in regions where traditional low-intensity land management practices have been abandoned. Monitoring and protection of ephemeral pool and wetland margins are key conservation actions for this species.

Gorila Occidental

El primate más grande del mundo, los gorilas occidentales pesan hasta 180 kg y habitan los bosques tropicales y subtropicales del África ecuatorial. Principalmente herbívoros, viven en grupos familiares liderados por un macho de espalda plateada que protege la tropa y media en los conflictos sociales. En Peligro Crítico, con poblaciones amenazadas por la deforestación, la caza furtiva para la venta de carne de monte y los brotes del virus del Ébola.