vs Globe Thistle

Comatricha nigra compared with Echinops exaltatus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Globe Thistle
Kingdom	Protozoa (protozoário)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mycetozoa	Chordata (cordados)
Class	Myxomycetes (Myxomycetes)	Mammalia (mamíferos)
Order	Stemonitidales	Afrosoricida (Afrosoricida)
Family	Stemonitidaceae	Tenrecidae
Genus	Comatricha	Echinops
Species	Comatricha nigra	Echinops exaltatus

Conservation Status

NE — Not Evaluated

Globe Thistle

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		Globe Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Belgium, Norway, Sweden), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

Globe Thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found across Europe (13 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

<em>Comatricha nigra</em> is among the more widely distributed species in the genus <em>Comatricha</em>, with documented records from Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. It belongs to the class Myxomycetes, order Stemonitidales, and is recognized by its dark, stalked sporangia with a distinctive capillitium. The species grows on decaying wood, bark, and moist plant debris in forest habitats across its broad geographic range. As with all plasmodial slime molds, <em>C. nigra</em> undergoes a life cycle that includes a motile plasmodial feeding stage and a reproductive sporangial stage. The feeding plasmodium consumes bacteria, fungal spores, and organic particles, playing a role in nutrient cycling and decomposition. The global distribution of <em>C. nigra</em> reflects the capacity of slime mold spores to disperse over long distances via wind currents. No quantitative biological metrics are recorded, and the species has not been assessed by the IUCN.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States