Coast Cinquefoil vs Polar bear

Potentilla litoralis compared with Ursus maritimus

Key Differences

Coast Cinquefoil is Not Evaluated while Polar bear is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coast Cinquefoil	Polar bear
Kingdom	Plantae (植物)	Animalia (動物)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (被子植物門)	Chordata (脊索動物)
Class	Magnoliopsida (モクレン綱)	Mammalia (哺乳類)
Order	Rosales (バラ目)	Carnivora (ネコ目)
Family	Rosaceae (Rose Family)	Ursidae (Bears)
Genus	Potentilla	Ursus (Bears)
Species	Potentilla litoralis	Ursus maritimus

Conservation Status

Coast Cinquefoil

NE — Not Evaluated

Polar bear

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~26.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coast Cinquefoil	Polar bear
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	25 years
Average Length	—	2.4 m
Average Weight	—	450.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coast Cinquefoil

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Canada, Norway, and United States.

Polar bear

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and boreal forests and taiga, among 4 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Norway. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Coast Cinquefoil

Coast cinquefoil (Potentilla litoralis) is a low-growing perennial herb in the family Rosaceae, found along coastal habitats of Atlantic North America and Scandinavia. It grows on rocky shorelines, coastal gravel, salt-sprayed headlands, and cliff-top grasslands just above the high tide zone. Like other cinquefoils, it bears five-petalled yellow flowers and compound leaves divided into toothed leaflets, a characteristic form of the Potentilla genus. Coast cinquefoil is adapted to maritime exposure, tolerating salt, wind, and thin, nutrient-poor substrates. Its prostrate or mat-forming growth habit reduces exposure in exposed coastal conditions. The species occupies a niche between maritime and terrestrial plant communities, often growing alongside other maritime specialists such as sea plantain and sea campion. Its IUCN conservation status is Not Evaluated. Taxonomically, Potentilla litoralis occupies a complex position within the genus, which contains hundreds of species and has historically been subject to different circumscriptions depending on taxonomic authority. Regional populations in the British Isles and Scandinavia are generally considered stable in suitable coastal habitat.

Polar bear

地球上で最大の陸上肉食動物であるホッキョクグマは700kgを超えることがあり、カナダからロシアまでの北極海氷域全体に分布する。ワモンアザラシとヒゲアザラシを狩るために海氷に依存する高度に特化した海洋哺乳類である。広大な距離を泳ぐことができる優れた泳者でもある。脆弱種に指定されており、気候変動による急激な北極海氷の消失で個体群が深刻な圧力を受けている。