African elephant vs

Loxodonta africana compared with Cocconeis neothumensis

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant
Kingdom	Animalia (動物)	Chromista (クロミスタ)
Phylum	Chordata (脊索動物)	Ochrophyta (オクロ植物)
Class	Mammalia (哺乳類)	Bacillariophyceae (クサリケイソウ綱)
Order	Proboscidea (ゾウ目)	Achnanthales (Achnanthales)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Cocconeidaceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Cocconeis
Species	Loxodonta africana	Cocconeis neothumensis

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant
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.

Habitat

Native to Europe and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Brazil, 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。

Cocconeis neothumensis is an epiphytic diatom in the family Cocconeidaceae, closely related to the type species Cocconeis thumensis but representing a morphologically and molecularly distinct taxon distinguished by the specific architecture of its silica frustule valves. The genus Cocconeis comprises adnate diatoms that attach firmly to solid substrates in aquatic environments, including the surfaces of submerged macrophytes, periphyton mats, and sediment particles in rivers, lakes, and coastal habitats. Cocconeis neothumensis has been recorded from freshwater bodies in South America and other regions, contributing to the benthic periphyton communities that coat submerged surfaces in well-lit aquatic habitats. The frustule ornamentation—including the density and arrangement of transapical striae and the morphology of the raphe system—provides the key morphological characters used to distinguish this species from its congeners under light and electron microscopy. Like all diatoms, C. neothumensis requires dissolved silicic acid to construct its frustule and depends on phosphorus and nitrogen availability for growth, making it a sensitive indicator of nutrient conditions in monitored water bodies. Periphytic diatom communities including Cocconeis species are widely used in ecological assessment frameworks such as the European Water Framework Directive to evaluate the biological quality of freshwater bodies based on assemblage composition. Conservation status is not formally evaluated.