African elephant vs Clover Seed Weevil

Loxodonta africana compared with Protapion assimile

Key Differences

• African elephant is Vulnerable while Clover Seed Weevil is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Clover Seed Weevil
Kingdom same	Animalia (動物)	Animalia (動物)
Phylum	Chordata (脊索動物)	Arthropoda (節足動物)
Class	Mammalia (哺乳類)	Insecta (昆虫)
Order	Proboscidea (ゾウ目)	Coleoptera (コウチュウ目)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Apionidae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Protapion
Species	Loxodonta africana	Protapion assimile

Evolutionary Relationship

African elephant and Clover Seed Weevil share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (動物)

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Clover Seed Weevil

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Clover Seed Weevil
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.

Clover Seed Weevil

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

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。

Clover Seed Weevil

Protapion assimile is a small apionid weevil in the family Brentidae, subfamily Apioninae, order Coleoptera, known by the shared common name clover seed weevil alongside its congener P. apricans and the unrelated Tychius picirostris. P. assimile is distinguished from P. apricans principally by its host plant preference: while P. apricans predominantly infests red clover (Trifolium pratense), P. assimile shows preference for white clover (Trifolium repens) and alsike clover (Trifolium hybridum), an ecological distinction that reduces direct interspecific competition between these closely related species. Females lay eggs in developing flower heads and seed pods of their respective host plants, and larvae consume developing seeds within the flower head. Adults feed on clover foliage and stems. P. assimile is distributed across Europe and is recorded from Norway and Sweden, inhabiting meadows, pastures, roadsides, and agricultural grasslands where white and alsike clover are present. The species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, with populations considered stable across its range. P. assimile can be separated from P. apricans by differences in elytral striation depth, rostrum proportions, and tibial structure, though the two species are frequently confused in field identification due to their similar size and coloration. Both species can cause localized damage to clover seed crops but rarely reach pest status in mixed-clover agricultural systems.