African payal vs Lion d'Afrique

Salvinia auriculata compared with Panthera leo

Key Differences

African payal is Not Evaluated while Lion d'Afrique is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African payal	Lion d'Afrique
Kingdom	Plantae (plante)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Filicopsida)	Mammalia (mammifères)
Order	Salviniales (Salviniales)	Carnivora (carnivores)
Family	Salviniaceae	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Salvinia	Panthera (Big Cats)
Species	Salvinia auriculata	Panthera leo

Conservation Status

African payal

NE — Not Evaluated

Lion d'Afrique

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~23.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African payal	Lion d'Afrique
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	2.5 m
Average Weight	—	190.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

African payal

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and mangrove forests and coastal wetlands within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Bangladesh, Thailand), Europe (5 countries), North America (Cuba, Dominican Republic), and South America (4 countries).

Lion d'Afrique

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 7 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Oceanian realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

African payal

The African payal (Salvinia auriculata) is a species in the genus Salvinia. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and mangrove forests and coastal wetlands within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm.

Lion d'Afrique

The largest wild cat in Africa, lions reach up to 250 kg and are the only social felids, living in prides across sub-Saharan savannas and grasslands. Males are distinguished by their iconic manes. As apex predators, they regulate herbivore populations and maintain ecosystem balance. Listed as Vulnerable due to habitat loss and human-wildlife conflict.