Common Earthball vs gray wolf

Scleroderma citrinum compared with Canis lupus

Key Differences

Common Earthball is Least Concern while gray wolf is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Earthball	gray wolf
Kingdom	Fungi (菌界)	Animalia (動物)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (担子菌門)	Chordata (脊索動物)
Class	Agaricomycetes (真正担子菌綱)	Mammalia (哺乳類)
Order	Boletales (イグチ目)	Carnivora (ネコ目)
Family	Sclerodermataceae	Canidae (Dogs & Wolves)
Genus	Scleroderma	Canis (Dogs & Wolves)
Species	Scleroderma citrinum	Canis lupus

Conservation Status

Common Earthball

LC — Least Concern

gray wolf

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~300.0K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Earthball	gray wolf
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	13 years
Average Length	—	1.6 m
Average Weight	—	45.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Earthball

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil, Chile).

gray wolf

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, deserts and xeric shrublands, and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, among 13 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Seychelles), Asia (Japan), Europe (5 countries), North America (7 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands, Vanuatu), and South America (5 countries). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Earthball

Scleroderma citrinum, commonly known as the common earthball or pigskin poison puffball, is a widespread ectomycorrhizal fungus in the family Sclerodermataceae, classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. The species occurs across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, typically found on forest floors, decomposing wood, and mineral-rich acidic soils in association with hardwood and conifer tree roots. Unlike true puffballs, Scleroderma citrinum is considered poisonous and should not be confused with edible species. Its thick, warty outer skin ranges from yellowish-brown to ochre and encloses a dark purplish-black spore mass that matures over time. The species plays an important ecological role as a mycorrhizal partner, forming mutualistic associations with the roots of oaks, beeches, pines, and other trees, facilitating the uptake of water and nutrients by host plants in exchange for photosynthetically derived carbon. Fruiting bodies typically emerge from late summer through autumn, releasing spores through irregular cracks or a central apical opening when mature. Scleroderma citrinum is a host for the parasitic fungus Pseudoboletus parasiticus, making it ecologically significant within forest fungal communities. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

gray wolf

最も広い分布域を持つ野生のイヌ科動物であるハイイロオオカミは、北アメリカからユーラシアにかけてのツンドラ、森林、草原などの多様な生息地に分布します。優位な繁殖ペアに率いられた家族単位の群れで生活する高度に社会的な動物です。キーストーン捕食者として獲物個体群を調整し、生態系の構造を根本的に形成することは、イエローストーンでの再導入により実証されています。かつて激しく迫害されましたが、多くの地域で個体群は回復しつつあります。