Common Earthball vs Lion

Scleroderma citrinum compared with Panthera leo

Key Differences

• Common Earthball is Least Concern while Lion is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Earthball	Lion
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)	Carnivora (食肉目)
Family	Sclerodermataceae	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Scleroderma	Panthera (Big Cats)
Species	Scleroderma citrinum	Panthera leo

Conservation Status

Common Earthball

LC — Least Concern

Lion

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~23.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Earthball	Lion
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	15 years
Average Length	—	2.5 m
Average Weight	—	190.0 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).

Lion

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 7 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Neotropic and Oceanian realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable 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.

Lion

非洲最大的野生猫科动物，体重可达250公斤，是撒哈拉以南非洲稀树草原和草地中唯一营群居生活的猫科动物。雄狮以其标志性的鬃毛著称。作为顶级捕食者，狮子调节草食动物种群，维持生态系统平衡。因栖息地丧失和人兽冲突被列为易危物种。