Asian waterwort vs Komodo Dragon

Elatine ambigua compared with Varanus komodoensis

Key Differences

Asian waterwort is Least Concern while Komodo Dragon is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Asian waterwort	Komodo Dragon
Kingdom	Plantae (plantas)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Reptilia (réptil)
Order	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)	Squamata (Escamados)
Family	Elatinaceae	Varanidae (Monitor Lizards)
Genus	Elatine	Varanus (Monitor Lizards)
Species	Elatine ambigua	Varanus komodoensis

Conservation Status

Asian waterwort

LC — Least Concern

Komodo Dragon

EN — Endangered

Population: ~3.5K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Asian waterwort	Komodo Dragon
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	30 years
Average Length	—	2.6 m
Average Weight	—	70.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Asian waterwort

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and temperate grasslands and steppes, among 4 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan, Turkey), Europe (Austria, Italy, Romania), and North America (United States).

Komodo Dragon

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

Range

Found in Indonesia. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Asian waterwort

The Asian waterwort (Elatine ambigua) is a species in the genus Elatine. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and temperate grasslands and steppes, among 4 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan, Turkey), Europe (Austria, Italy, Romania), and North America (United States).