African elephant vs Gold-Foot Fern

Loxodonta africana compared with Phlebodium aureum

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while Gold-Foot Fern is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Gold-Foot Fern
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (plantas)
Phylum	Chordata (cordados)	Tracheophyta
Class	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Polypodiaceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Phlebodium
Species	Loxodonta africana	Phlebodium aureum

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Gold-Foot Fern

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Gold-Foot Fern
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.

Gold-Foot Fern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Mauritius, South Africa), Europe (Belgium, Portugal), North America (Cuba, United States), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

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.