African elephant vs Cinnabar Powdercap

Loxodonta africana compared with Cystodermella cinnabarina

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Cinnabar Powdercap
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Cystodermella
Species	Loxodonta africana	Cystodermella cinnabarina

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Cinnabar Powdercap

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Cinnabar Powdercap
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.

Cinnabar Powdercap

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

African elephant

O elefante africano, o maior animal terrestre da Terra, pode atingir 7.000 kg e habita savanas, florestas e zonas húmidas da África subsaariana. Com estruturas sociais complexas lideradas por matriarcas, comunica através de infrassons, rugidos e contacto físico. Como engenheiro do ecossistema, modela o habitat arrancando árvores, escavando poços de água e dispersando sementes. Está classificado como Vulnerável (VU), com populações em declínio devido à caça furtiva de marfim e à perda de habitat.

Cinnabar Powdercap

Cinnabar powdercap (Cystodermella cinnabarina) is a small agaric fungus in the family Agaricaceae, distributed across the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, North America, and parts of Asia. It grows in woodland and forest floor habitats, particularly in needle or mixed leaf litter under conifers and mixed deciduous trees. The fruiting bodies are small to medium mushrooms with a granular, powdery cap surface in shades of orange-red to cinnabar or brick red, which gives the species its name. The gills are white and the stipe has a granular surface below the annulus (ring), typical of the genus. Cystodermella cinnabarina is classified as Vulnerable, reflecting declines linked to eutrophication, changes in forest floor conditions, and the loss of traditional forest management practices that maintained suitable microhabitats. The species is associated with relatively undisturbed, low-nutrient woodland soil conditions and is sensitive to nitrogen enrichment, which promotes competitive vegetation that degrades its habitat. Molecular phylogenetics has clarified its placement within Agaricaceae, separating it from the related genus Cystoderma. The cinnabar powdercap is an indicator of woodland fungi diversity and habitat quality. Conservation of low-intensity managed forest with diverse floor conditions benefits this and related saprotrophic macrofungi.