Common Earthball vs gorilla

Scleroderma citrinum compared with Gorilla gorilla

Key Differences

• Common Earthball is Least Concern while gorilla is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Earthball	gorilla
Kingdom	Fungi (真菌界)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (担子菌门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class	Agaricomycetes (傘菌綱)	Mammalia (哺乳動物)
Order	Boletales (牛肝菌目)	Primates (灵长目)
Family	Sclerodermataceae	Hominidae (Great Apes)
Genus	Scleroderma	Gorilla (Gorillas)
Species	Scleroderma citrinum	Gorilla gorilla

Conservation Status

Common Earthball

LC — Least Concern

gorilla

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~100.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Earthball	gorilla
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	40 years
Average Length	—	1.7 m
Average Weight	—	160.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Earthball

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil, Chile).

gorilla

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 4 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Cameroon, Congo (Republic), Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Earthball

<em>Scleroderma citrinum</em>, commonly known as the common earthball or pigskin poison puffball, is a widespread ectomycorrhizal fungus in the family Sclerodermataceae, classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. The species occurs across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, typically found on forest floors, decomposing wood, and mineral-rich acidic soils in association with hardwood and conifer tree roots. Unlike true puffballs, <em>Scleroderma citrinum</em> is considered poisonous and should not be confused with edible species. Its thick, warty outer skin ranges from yellowish-brown to ochre and encloses a dark purplish-black spore mass that matures over time. The species plays an important ecological role as a mycorrhizal partner, forming mutualistic associations with the roots of oaks, beeches, pines, and other trees, facilitating the uptake of water and nutrients by host plants in exchange for photosynthetically derived carbon. Fruiting bodies typically emerge from late summer through autumn, releasing spores through irregular cracks or a central apical opening when mature. <em>Scleroderma citrinum</em> is a host for the parasitic fungus <em>Pseudoboletus parasiticus</em>, making it ecologically significant within forest fungal communities. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

gorilla

西部大猩猩是世界上最大的灵长类动物，体重可达180千克，栖息于赤道非洲的热带和亚热带森林。主要为草食性，以保护族群并调解社会冲突的银背雄性为首形成家族群体。由于森林砍伐、丛林肉偷猎和埃博拉病毒疾病暴发，被列为极度濒危（CR）。