Asiatic elephant vs Ornate Cuscus

Elephas maximus compared with Phalanger ornatus

Key Differences

• Asiatic elephant is Endangered while Ornate Cuscus is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Asiatic elephant	Ornate Cuscus
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (cordados)	Chordata (cordados)
Class same	Mammalia (mamíferos)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Proboscidea (Elephants)	Diprotodontia (Marsupials)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Phalangeridae
Genus	Elephas (Asian Elephants)	Phalanger
Species	Elephas maximus	Phalanger ornatus

Evolutionary Relationship

Asiatic elephant and Ornate Cuscus share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (mamíferos)

Conservation Status

Asiatic elephant

EN — Endangered

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Ornate Cuscus

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

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.

Ornate Cuscus

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.