Common Pinmould vs Gorila Occidental

Mucor mucedo compared with Gorilla gorilla

Key Differences

Common Pinmould is Not Evaluated while Gorila Occidental is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Pinmould	Gorila Occidental
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mucoromycota (Mucoromycota)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Mucoromycetes (Mucoromycetes)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Mucorales (Mucorales)	Primates (Primates)
Family	Mucoraceae	Hominidae (Great Apes)
Genus	Mucor	Gorilla (Gorillas)
Species	Mucor mucedo	Gorilla gorilla

Conservation Status

Common Pinmould

NE — Not Evaluated

Gorila Occidental

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Pinmould

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, and Norway.

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.

Common Pinmould

<em>Mucor mucedo</em>, the common pin mould, is a zygomycete fungus in the family Mucoraceae, belonging to one of the earliest-diverging lineages of terrestrial fungi. It is characterised by long, unbranched sporangiophores topped with spherical, pin-like sporangia that release large numbers of asexual spores, giving infested substrates a grey or white mouldy appearance. The species is a saprotrophic decomposer, typically colonising dung, soil, decaying organic matter, and stored food products, where it plays a role in nutrient cycling and organic matter breakdown. <em>Mucor mucedo</em> is distributed across Europe, with records from Belgium, Denmark, and Norway, and in South America including Brazil, and is likely cosmopolitan given the ease with which its spores disperse through the air. It is assessed as Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List, as fungal conservation assessments remain incomplete globally. Sexual reproduction involves the fusion of compatible mating types to produce resistant zygospores. Biological traits such as colony growth rates under standardised conditions, typical biomass production, and detailed ecological roles beyond general decomposition remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. The species is non-pathogenic to healthy humans but may cause opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals.

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.