Ardilla Gris Oriental vs Clover Dodder

Sciurus carolinensis compared with Cuscuta epithymum

Key Differences

Ardilla Gris Oriental is Not Evaluated while Clover Dodder is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Ardilla Gris Oriental	Clover Dodder
Kingdom	Animalia (動物)	Plantae (植物)
Phylum	Chordata (脊索動物)	Magnoliophyta (被子植物門)
Class	Mammalia (哺乳類)	Magnoliopsida (モクレン綱)
Order	Rodentia (ネズミ目)	Solanales (ナス目)
Family	Sciuridae (Squirrels)	Convolvulaceae
Genus	Sciurus (Tree Squirrels)	Cuscuta
Species	Sciurus carolinensis	Cuscuta epithymum

Conservation Status

Ardilla Gris Oriental

NE — Not Evaluated

Trend: Stable →

Clover Dodder

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Ardilla Gris Oriental	Clover Dodder
Diet	Omnivore	—
Average Lifespan	6 years	—
Average Length	25 cm	—
Average Weight	500 g	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Ardilla Gris Oriental

Habitat

Typically found in a wide range of habitat types.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Indonesia), Europe (10 countries), and North America (Mexico, United States).

Clover Dodder

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, montane grasslands and shrublands, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (9 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Argentina, Venezuela). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Ardilla Gris Oriental

ヒガシハイリス（Sciurus carolinensis）は北米東部原産の中型樹上性げっ歯類で、ヨーロッパをはじめ世界各地に移入された外来種である。IUCNレッドリストでは軽度懸念（LC）に分類されており、都市公園や郊外の森林環境への適応力が高く、堅果の埋蔵行動が植物の種子散布に重要な役割を果たしている。英国ではニホンリスを食物競争で駆逐しており、侵略的外来種としても問題視されている。

Clover Dodder

Clover dodder (Cuscuta epithymum) is a parasitic flowering plant in the family Convolvulaceae, a leafless, twining vine that obtains all its water and nutrients from host plants via haustoria — specialized penetrating organs that connect to host vascular tissue. The species is almost entirely dependent on its hosts throughout its life, with only brief photosynthetic activity during germination before establishing parasitic connections. C. epithymum parasitizes a wide range of host species including clover (Trifolium), gorse (Ulex), heathers (Erica, Calluna), thyme (Thymus), and other plants in open heathland, grassland, and scrub habitats. The stems are thread-like, yellowish-pink or reddish, and support clusters of small white to pale pink flowers. Originally widespread across Europe, Asia, North Africa, and the Americas, the species has declined significantly in many parts of its range due to agricultural intensification, herbicide application, grassland conversion, and loss of semi-natural heathlands. It is currently listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, reflecting population decline across its European core range. Conservation of C. epithymum requires the maintenance of unimproved, low-nutrient grasslands and heathlands that support its diverse host plant communities. The species is recorded from Africa, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America, though populations in some regions represent introductions associated with contaminated legume seed lots.