African elephant vs Common Flower Fly

Loxodonta africana compared with Syrphus ribesii

Key Differences

• African elephant is Vulnerable while Common Flower Fly is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Common Flower Fly
Kingdom same	Animalia (hewan)	Animalia (hewan)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Artropoda)
Class	Mammalia (mamalia)	Insecta (serangga)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Diptera (lalat)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Syrphidae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Syrphus
Species	Loxodonta africana	Syrphus ribesii

Evolutionary Relationship

African elephant and Common Flower Fly share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (hewan)

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Common Flower Fly

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Common Flower Fly
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	65 years	—
Average Length	6.0 m	—
Average Weight	6.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African elephant

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 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Flower Fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States).

African elephant

The largest land animal on Earth, African elephants can reach 7,000 kg and inhabit sub-Saharan savannas, forests, and wetlands. Highly intelligent with complex social structures led by matriarchs, they communicate through infrasound, rumbles, and touch. As ecosystem engineers, they shape habitats by uprooting trees, digging waterholes, and dispersing seeds. Vulnerable, with populations declining due to ivory poaching and habitat loss.

Common Flower Fly

<em>Syrphus ribesii</em> is a hoverfly in the family Syrphidae, order Diptera, commonly known as the common flower fly. This species is among the most frequently encountered hoverflies in its range and serves an important ecological role as a pollinator of flowering plants. The species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. <em>Syrphus ribesii</em> is distributed across Europe and the United States, typically inhabiting gardens, hedgerows, woodland edges, and meadows where flowering plants are abundant. Adults are characterized by yellow and black banded abdomens that mimic the appearance of wasps or bees, providing protection from predators through Batesian mimicry. Adults feed on nectar and pollen, while larvae are predatory, feeding on soft-bodied insects such as aphids and thereby providing a natural pest control service in gardens and agricultural settings. The species is migratory in parts of its range. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.