African elephant vs Common Stonewort

Loxodonta africana compared with Chara vulgaris

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while Common Stonewort is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Common Stonewort
Kingdom	Animalia (動物)	Plantae (植物)
Phylum	Chordata (脊索動物)	Charophyta (車軸藻植物門)
Class	Mammalia (哺乳類)	Charophyceae (車軸藻綱)
Order	Proboscidea (ゾウ目)	Charales (車軸藻類)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Characeae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Chara
Species	Loxodonta africana	Chara vulgaris

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Common Stonewort

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Common Stonewort
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 Stonewort

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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。

Common Stonewort

Chara vulgaris, the common stonewort, is a species of charophyte green alga in the family Characeae, order Charales. It typically grows submerged in freshwater habitats including ponds, lakes, ditches, and slow-moving streams, often forming dense mats on the substrate. The species has a broad geographic distribution spanning Asia, Europe, and the Americas, tolerating a range of water conditions from clear to moderately turbid. Chara vulgaris is notable for its heavily calcified, whorled structure that gives stoneworts their characteristic encrusted appearance and makes them valuable as paleoclimate indicators in sediment records. As a primary producer, it contributes to aquatic food webs and provides habitat for invertebrates and juvenile fish. Biological traits such as individual lifespan, precise growth rates, and specific consumer relationships remain poorly documented in the literature. Despite its wide range, Chara vulgaris is assessed as Endangered by the IUCN, reflecting significant population declines attributed to freshwater pollution, eutrophication, and habitat degradation across much of its range. Targeted conservation of clean, oligotrophic water bodies is essential for its persistence.