African elephant vs large flying fox

Loxodonta africana compared with Pteropus vampyrus

Key Differences

• African elephant is Vulnerable while large flying fox is Near Threatened.
• African elephant is 5454.5x heavier than large flying fox.
• African elephant lives longer (65 years vs 15 years).

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	large flying fox
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (cordados)	Chordata (cordados)
Class same	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Chiroptera (morcego)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Pteropodidae (Fruit Bats)
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Pteropus (Flying Foxes)
Species	Loxodonta africana	Pteropus vampyrus

Evolutionary Relationship

African elephant and large flying fox share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (mamíferos)

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

large flying fox

NT — Near Threatened

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	large flying fox
Diet	Herbivore	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	65 years	15 years
Average Length	6.0 m	30 cm
Average Weight	6.0 t	1.1 kg

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.

large flying fox

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.

large flying fox

A maior espécie de morcego do mundo, os raposas-voadoras-grandes têm envergaduras de até 1,5 metro e habitam florestas tropicais do sudeste asiático até as Filipinas e a Indonésia. Apesar do nome alarmante, alimentam-se exclusivamente de frutas e néctar, tornando-os vitais polinizadores e dispersores de sementes para as árvores da floresta tropical. Estabelecem abrigos em enormes colônias de milhares de indivíduos. Classificadas como Vulneráveis devido à caça para carne e destruição de habitat.