Chocolate Rim Lichen vs gorilla

Protoparmelia badia compared with Gorilla gorilla

Key Differences

Chocolate Rim Lichen is Near Threatened while gorilla is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Chocolate Rim Lichen	gorilla
Kingdom	Fungi (菌界)	Animalia (動物)
Phylum	Ascomycota (子嚢菌門)	Chordata (脊索動物)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (チャシブゴケ菌綱)	Mammalia (哺乳類)
Order	Lecanorales (チャシブゴケ目)	Primates (サル目)
Family	Parmeliaceae	Hominidae (Great Apes)
Genus	Protoparmelia	Gorilla (Gorillas)
Species	Protoparmelia badia	Gorilla gorilla

Conservation Status

Chocolate Rim Lichen

NT — Near Threatened

gorilla

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Chocolate Rim Lichen	gorilla
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	40 years
Average Length	—	1.7 m
Average Weight	—	160.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Chocolate Rim Lichen

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and United States. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

gorilla

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 4 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Cameroon, Congo (Republic), Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Chocolate Rim Lichen

The Chocolate Rim Lichen (Protoparmelia badia) is a crustose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae, found on exposed siliceous and acid rocks in montane and subalpine environments across Europe, North America, and other temperate and boreal regions. Crustose lichens form a tightly adhering crust directly on rock surfaces and lack the lobed margins of foliose lichens, making them impossible to remove from substrate without destroying the thallus. Protoparmelia badia forms a thin, pale grey to brownish-grey thallus with conspicuous reddish-brown to dark chocolate-brown apothecia (disc-shaped reproductive structures), from which the common name derives. The species is typical of well-lit, clean-air rocky habitats such as mountain summits, upland heathland, and acidic outcrops. Like many lichens, it is a pioneer coloniser of bare rock surfaces and contributes to the initial stages of soil formation. The IUCN classifies P. badia as Near Threatened, reflecting concerns about declining populations linked to air pollution — lichens are renowned biological indicators of air quality, being highly sensitive to sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and ammonia — as well as climate change effects on montane habitats and disturbance from rock climbing and other outdoor recreation.

gorilla

世界最大の霊長類であるニシゴリラは体重が最大180kgに達し、赤道アフリカの熱帯・亜熱帯の森林に生息する。主に草食性で、群れを守り社会的な対立を仲裁するシルバーバック雄が率いる家族集団を形成する。森林破壊、食肉目的の密猟、エボラウイルス感染症の流行により脅威にさらされており、近絶滅種（CR）に指定されている。