Common Pinmould vs Lǎohǔ

Mucor mucedo compared with Panthera tigris

Key Differences

Common Pinmould is Not Evaluated while Lǎohǔ is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Pinmould	Lǎohǔ
Kingdom	Fungi (真菌界)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum	Mucoromycota (毛霉门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class	Mucoromycetes (毛霉纲)	Mammalia (哺乳動物)
Order	Mucorales (毛黴目)	Carnivora (食肉目)
Family	Mucoraceae	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Mucor	Panthera (Big Cats)
Species	Mucor mucedo	Panthera tigris

Conservation Status

Common Pinmould

NE — Not Evaluated

Lǎohǔ

EN — Endangered

Population: ~4.5K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Pinmould	Lǎohǔ
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	20 years
Average Length	—	3.0 m
Average Weight	—	220.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Pinmould

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, and Norway.

Lǎohǔ

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 6 distinct biome types spanning the Neotropic and Oceanian realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Ecuador. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Pinmould

<em>Mucor mucedo</em>, the common pin mould, is a zygomycete fungus in the family Mucoraceae, belonging to one of the earliest-diverging lineages of terrestrial fungi. It is characterised by long, unbranched sporangiophores topped with spherical, pin-like sporangia that release large numbers of asexual spores, giving infested substrates a grey or white mouldy appearance. The species is a saprotrophic decomposer, typically colonising dung, soil, decaying organic matter, and stored food products, where it plays a role in nutrient cycling and organic matter breakdown. <em>Mucor mucedo</em> is distributed across Europe, with records from Belgium, Denmark, and Norway, and in South America including Brazil, and is likely cosmopolitan given the ease with which its spores disperse through the air. It is assessed as Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List, as fungal conservation assessments remain incomplete globally. Sexual reproduction involves the fusion of compatible mating types to produce resistant zygospores. Biological traits such as colony growth rates under standardised conditions, typical biomass production, and detailed ecological roles beyond general decomposition remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. The species is non-pathogenic to healthy humans but may cause opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals.