Guépard vs

Acinonyx jubatus compared with Coelosphaerium subarcticum

Key Differences

Guépard is Vulnerable while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Guépard
Kingdom	Animalia (animal)	Bacteria (Bacteria)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Cyanobacteria (Cyanobacteria)
Class	Mammalia (mammifères)	Cyanobacteriia
Order	Carnivora (carnivores)	Cyanobacteriales
Family	Felidae (Cats)	Microcystaceae
Genus	Acinonyx (Cheetahs)	Coelosphaerium
Species	Acinonyx jubatus	Coelosphaerium subarcticum

Conservation Status

Guépard

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~6.7K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Guépard
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	12 years	—
Average Length	1.5 m	—
Average Weight	50.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Guépard

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

Range

Distributed across Botswana, Iran, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

Guépard

The fastest land animal on Earth, reaching speeds of 112 km/h over short distances across African and Iranian grasslands. Slender build with a deep chest, long legs, and distinctive black tear-stripe markings. Unlike other big cats, cheetahs vocalize with chirps and purrs. Vulnerable, with only ~7,000 remaining due to habitat fragmentation and competition with larger predators.

Coelosphaerium subarcticum is a colonial planktonic cyanobacterium in the family Merismopediaceae, as its epithet suggests, with distribution records concentrated in subarctic and boreal freshwater environments of Scandinavia, specifically Norway and Sweden. The species forms spherical mucilaginous colonies with peripheral cell arrangement typical of the genus, and its adaptation to cold water temperatures distinguishes it ecologically from congeners that prefer warmer, more eutrophic conditions. Subarctic lakes and ponds are characterised by low temperatures, ice cover for much of the year, and typically oligotrophic to mesotrophic conditions with relatively low nutrient levels. In such settings, cyanobacteria including Coelosphaerium subarcticum contribute to primary production during the ice-free summer season when available light and temperatures support photosynthesis. Gas vesicles in the cells enable buoyancy regulation, allowing colonies to rise toward surface light layers during calm conditions. Arctic and subarctic freshwater ecosystems are among the environments most sensitive to climate-driven changes, with warming temperatures extending the growing season, altering ice regimes, and potentially enabling southerly species to expand northward while cold-adapted taxa face range contraction. No formal IUCN conservation evaluation has been conducted for this species, as is typical for planktonic microorganisms at this taxonomic level.