Alfalfa dodder vs Asiatic elephant

Cuscuta approximata compared with Elephas maximus

Key Differences

Alfalfa dodder is Not Evaluated while Asiatic elephant is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Alfalfa dodder	Asiatic elephant
Kingdom	Plantae (plantas)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Solanales (Solanales)	Proboscidea (Elephants)
Family	Convolvulaceae	Elephantidae (Elephants)
Genus	Cuscuta	Elephas (Asian Elephants)
Species	Cuscuta approximata	Elephas maximus

Conservation Status

Alfalfa dodder

NE — Not Evaluated

Asiatic elephant

EN — Endangered

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Alfalfa dodder	Asiatic elephant
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	60 years
Average Length	—	5.5 m
Average Weight	—	4.0 t

Habitat & Geographic Range

Alfalfa dodder

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (China, Tajikistan), Europe (Hungary, Sweden), North America (Canada, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

Asiatic elephant

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 9 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Alfalfa dodder

The Alfalfa dodder (Cuscuta approximata) is a species in the genus Cuscuta. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Asiatic elephant

O elefante-asiático (Elephas maximus) é um dos maiores animais terrestres existentes, distribuído pelo sul e sudeste da Ásia. Seu estado de conservação é em perigo (EN) devido principalmente à perda de habitat e à caça ilegal, e tem grande importância cultural e religiosa em muitas culturas asiáticas.