vs Gray-headed Flying Fox

Clostridium tertium compared with Pteropus poliocephalus

Key Differences

is Not Evaluated while Gray-headed Flying Fox is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Gray-headed Flying Fox
Kingdom	Bacteria (Bacteria)	Animalia (động vật)
Phylum	Firmicutes_A	Chordata (động vật có dây sống)
Class	Clostridia (Clostridia)	Mammalia (lớp Thú)
Order	Clostridiales (Clostridiales)	Chiroptera (bộ Dơi)
Family	Clostridiaceae	Pteropodidae (Fruit Bats)
Genus	Clostridium	Pteropus (Flying Foxes)
Species	Clostridium tertium	Pteropus poliocephalus

Conservation Status

NE — Not Evaluated

Gray-headed Flying Fox

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		Gray-headed Flying Fox
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Native to Asia, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in Taiwan.

Gray-headed Flying Fox

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Clostridium tertium is an aerotolerant, endospore-forming bacterium in the family Clostridiaceae notable among clostridia for its ability to grow in the presence of atmospheric oxygen, despite being classified within the genus of strictly anaerobic organisms. Its relative aerotolerance distinguishes it from most genus members and contributes to its occasional isolation from clinical sources. C. tertium is considered an opportunistic pathogen, causing bacteremia primarily in immunocompromised patients including those undergoing chemotherapy, with neutropenia as a key risk factor. The bacterium has been isolated from soil, water, and the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans. Despite causing bacteremia and occasionally more invasive infections, C. tertium does not produce recognized exotoxins comparable to the major histotoxic clostridia, and its pathogenic mechanisms involve host immune evasion rather than direct toxin-mediated tissue destruction. Clinically, C. tertium bacteremia carries significant mortality in neutropenic patients but responds to beta-lactam antibiotics unlike C. difficile or C. perfringens infections. Its natural aerotolerance makes it unusual within the Clostridium genus and raises evolutionary questions about the anaerobic ancestry of this lineage.