Dark Stonewort vs Slender Stonewort

Nitella opaca compared with Nitella gracilis

Key Differences

• Dark Stonewort is Least Concern while Slender Stonewort is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Dark Stonewort	Slender Stonewort
Kingdom same	Plantae (พืช)	Plantae (พืช)
Phylum same	Charophyta (Charophyta)	Charophyta (Charophyta)
Class same	Charophyceae (Charophyceae)	Charophyceae (Charophyceae)
Order same	Charales (Charales)	Charales (Charales)
Family same	Characeae	Characeae
Genus same	Nitella	Nitella
Species	Nitella opaca	Nitella gracilis

Evolutionary Relationship

Dark Stonewort and Slender Stonewort share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Nitella.

Conservation Status

Dark Stonewort

LC — Least Concern

Slender Stonewort

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Dark Stonewort	Slender Stonewort
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Dark Stonewort

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Brazil, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Slender Stonewort

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (Denmark, Norway, Sweden), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇷 Brazil 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States