African elephant vs Common Thorn-Apple

Loxodonta africana compared with Datura stramonium

Key Differences

African elephant is Vulnerable while Common Thorn-Apple is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African elephant	Common Thorn-Apple
Kingdom	Animalia (động vật)	Plantae (thực vật)
Phylum	Chordata (động vật có dây sống)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (lớp Thú)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Proboscidea (Bộ Có vòi)	Solanales (Bộ Cà)
Family	Elephantidae (Elephants)	Solanaceae
Genus	Loxodonta (African Elephants)	Datura
Species	Loxodonta africana	Datura stramonium

Conservation Status

African elephant

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~415.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Common Thorn-Apple

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African elephant	Common Thorn-Apple
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	65 years	—
Average Length	6.0 m	—
Average Weight	6.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African elephant

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

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

Common Thorn-Apple

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (26 countries), Asia (20 countries), Europe (35 countries), North America (9 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (6 countries), and South America (7 countries).

African elephant

The largest land animal on Earth, African elephants can reach 7,000 kg and inhabit sub-Saharan savannas, forests, and wetlands. Highly intelligent with complex social structures led by matriarchs, they communicate through infrasound, rumbles, and touch. As ecosystem engineers, they shape habitats by uprooting trees, digging waterholes, and dispersing seeds. Vulnerable, with populations declining due to ivory poaching and habitat loss.

Common Thorn-Apple

<em>Datura stramonium</em>, the common thorn apple or jimsonweed, is an annual herbaceous plant in the family Solanaceae, believed to be native to Central America or southern North America but now cosmopolitan, occurring in over 90 countries across temperate and tropical regions worldwide. It is Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List as a widespread weed. The plant grows in disturbed soils, waste ground, roadsides, agricultural fields, and gardens. It bears large, lobed leaves with an unpleasant odor, distinctive white to pale violet trumpet-shaped flowers, and spiny seed capsules. All parts of <em>Datura stramonium</em> are highly toxic, containing tropane alkaloids including scopolamine, hyoscyamine, and atropine, which can cause severe poisoning in humans and livestock. Despite its toxicity, it has a long history of medicinal and ritual use across many cultures. The species is considered an invasive weed in many agricultural contexts. Biological traits such as seed output per plant, precise lifespan, and biomass data remain poorly documented in standardized global assessments.