African elephant vs Clermont'S Spleenwort

Loxodonta africana compared with Asplenium clermontiae

Key Differences

  • African elephant is Vulnerable while Clermont'S Spleenwort is Extinct.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank African elephant Clermont'S Spleenwort
Kingdom Animalia (動物) Plantae (植物)
Phylum Chordata (脊索動物) Tracheophyta
Class Mammalia (哺乳類) Polypodiopsida (ウラボシ綱)
Order Proboscidea (ゾウ目) Polypodiales (ウラボシ目)
Family Elephantidae (Elephants) Aspleniaceae
Genus Loxodonta (African Elephants) Asplenium
Species Loxodonta africana Asplenium clermontiae

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Clermont'S Spleenwort

EX — Extinct

Physical Characteristics

Attribute African elephant Clermont'S Spleenwort
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.

Clermont'S Spleenwort

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Found in United States.

African elephant

地球上最大の陸上動物であるアフリカゾウは体重7,000 kgに達し、サハラ以南のサバンナ、森林、湿地に生息する。成熟した雌が群れを率いる高度に知的な社会構造を持ち、超低周波音やうなり声、接触によって意思疎通する。木を引き倒したり水飲み場を掘ったり種子を散布したりすることで生態系を形成するエンジニア種だが、象牙の密猟や生息地の喪失により個体数は減少しており、危急(VU)とされている。

Clermont'S Spleenwort

Clermont's Spleenwort, Asplenium clermontiae, is a small fern in the family Aspleniaceae with a very restricted distribution in the Indian Ocean islands, believed to occur in the Mascarene archipelago. The genus Asplenium, the spleenworts, is one of the largest and most diverse fern genera globally, with species adapted to rock faces, tree bark, and moist forest floors across tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions. Clermont's Spleenwort, like many island-endemic Asplenium species, likely grows epiphytically on tree trunks or lithophytically on humid rock faces in montane forest, protected from the desiccating conditions of lower elevations. Island endemic ferns in the Mascarenes face severe threats from habitat loss driven by agricultural conversion, invasive plant species that alter forest structure, and introduced herbivores that destroy forest understory vegetation. Many spleenwort species have very small total populations confined to remnant forest patches. Asplenium clermontiae is considered rare and potentially threatened, though formal assessment data on its exact population size and trend are limited. Conservation of the species depends on the protection and restoration of humid forest habitats on the islands where it occurs.

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