Common Tarcrust vs Gorila Occidental

Diatrype stigma compared with Gorilla gorilla

Key Differences

• Common Tarcrust is Not Evaluated while Gorila Occidental is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Tarcrust	Gorila Occidental
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Sordariomycetes (Sordariomycetes)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Xylariales (Xylariales)	Primates (Primates)
Family	Diatrypaceae	Hominidae (Great Apes)
Genus	Diatrype	Gorilla (Gorillas)
Species	Diatrype stigma	Gorilla gorilla

Conservation Status

Common Tarcrust

NE — Not Evaluated

Gorila Occidental

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Tarcrust

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

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 Tarcrust

<em>Diatrype stigma</em>, the common tarcrust, is a saprotrophic fungus in the family Diatrypaceae, found across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden, as well as more broadly in Europe and temperate regions globally. It grows as a crust-like, charcoal-black stromata on the dead bark and branches of deciduous hardwoods, particularly hazel, beech, and alder. The fruiting bodies are typically flat to slightly raised, dark gray to black patches that contain numerous embedded perithecia in which ascospores are produced. This fungus plays an important ecological role as a decomposer, breaking down dead woody material and recycling nutrients in forest ecosystems. It is Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List; given its broad distribution on common substrates, it is generally considered widespread. The species reproduces via wind-dispersed ascospores released from the perithecia. Diet, as a saprotrophic organism, consists of dead organic woody matter. Biological traits such as colony growth rates, spore output, and longevity remain poorly documented in standardized quantitative assessments.

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.