Flora vs. Fauna: 12 Major Differences, Examples

Flora Definition

The term ‘flora’ is defined as all the naturally occurring native plants of a particular region. Flora indicates all forms of plant life, more generally used to represent the plant life of a particular place.

• Sometimes, the term ‘microflora’ or ‘gut flora’ is used to represent the naturally occurring microorganisms, mainly, bacteria and fungi, in various organisms.
• The word, ‘flora’ is taken from the Latin name of the Goddess of plants in the Roman mythology who was named ‘Flora’.
• Different plants are classified into various floras on the basis of their region, also known as floristic regions, climate, environmental conditions, and period.
• The floristic region might be habitats like mountains and valleys, whereas the period might be either historic like fossil flora or present. They are further subdivided according to their particular environments.
• Some of the commonly used flora include; native flora, agricultural and horticultural flora, and weed flora.
• The native flora is native or indigenous to a particular area. This means that the plants occur naturally in these areas.
• Agricultural or horticultural flora, also known as garden flora, includes the plants that are grown by humans.
• Weed flora is a group of plants that are unnecessary and undesirable. However, some plants kept in the weed flora traditionally might be beneficial to other ecosystems.
• Besides, the term Flora is also used for the documentation of plants of a particular are or a time period. These were traditionally published in the form of books, but nowadays, they are available on websites.

Fauna Definition

Fauna is all the animal life present in a particular place or at a particular time period. Fauna indicates all forms of animal life, more generally used to represent the animal life native to a particular place.

• The word ‘fauna’ has been taken from various names like ‘Fauna, the Goddess of earth and fertility’, the Roman God, ‘Faunus’ of the Roman mythology, and the related forest spirits ‘Fauns’.
• Fauna, like flora, is classified on the basis of their region, characteristics, climate, environmental conditions, and period.
• Out of this, the most common division is based on the region. Some of the flora based on region include; cryofauna, cryptofauna, infauna, epifauna, macrofauna, megafauna, meiofauna, and microfauna.
• Cryofauna indicates animals that live in and around cold areas.
• Cryptofauna includes animals that live in concealed or protected habitats.
• Epifauna is the group of animals that live at the bottom of the sediments present on the ocean floor.
• Infauna, in contrast, indicates the bottom-most oceanic animals that live underneath those sediments or deposits.
• Macrofauna is soil animals that live on 0.5 to 0.3 mm sieve.
• Megafauna is large animals that live on the surface of a particular region or at a particular time.
• Meiofauna includes invertebrates that are larger than microfauna but smaller than megafauna.
• The microscopic animals or invertebrates are included in microfauna.
• Other faunas like avifauna have birds, and piscifauna includes fishes.

Key Differences (Flora vs Fauna)

Examples of flora

Flowering plants

• Flowering plants are the plants that bear flowers and the most abundant green plants found on earth.
• These are found in all environments throughout the world, ranging from mountains to deep-sea surfaces to deserts.
• These are also termed angiosperms that bear flowers and seeds and exist as trees, shrubs, and herbs.
• These plants have specialized vascular tissues, xylem, and phloem that help transport water, mineral, and food to a different part of the plant.
• The flowering plants are found in the flora of all types of ecosystems but are mostly native to different areas.
• The flowering plants present in terrestrial flora includes rose, mustard, apples, tomatoes, cauliflowers, etc. while the plants in aquatic flora include water lily, hyacinth, lotus, water iris, etc.

Non-flowering plants

• Non-flowering plants are the plants that do not bear flowers and have naked seeds. These plants are also called gymnosperms.
• The seeds in gymnosperms are mostly observed in the form of cones.
• These plants have specialized vascular tissues, xylem, and phloem that help transport water, mineral, and food to a different part of the plant.
• The seeds of the plant are not covered with fruit, and they do not form fruits. Instead, the seeds remain exposed as cones.
• Non-flowering plants, like flowering plants, are found in almost all ecosystems.
• The non-flowering plants present in terrestrial flora includes pines, cycads, aloe, cactus, etc. while plants in aquatic flora include fern, mosses, hornworts, etc.

Read Also: 27 differences between Angiosperm and Gymnosperm

Examples of fauna

Amphibians

• Amphibian is a group of animals that are capable of exploiting both aquatic and terrestrial habitats.
• At present, about 8100 species of living amphibians live throughout the world
• The most characteristic feature of amphibians is moist skin that supports cutaneous respiration. Some amphibians like terrestrial salamanders and frogs might even lack lungs.
• Amphibians are considered one of the most susceptible animals in the environment as they have semi-permeable skin, and their eggs are porous.
• Examples of common amphibians that form the fauna on earth include frogs, salamander, toads, and caecilians.

Reptiles

• Reptiles are crawling animals that live on land and have epidermal scales, covering part or the entire surface of the body.
• Even though most reptiles are tetrapods with two pairs of limbs, and they are exclusively terrestrial and do not have an aquatic larval stage. Some reptiles, however, are limbless and live as crawling animals.
• Some reptiles like turtle and tortoise might even have modified limbs as flaps that aid them in swimming.
• At present, more than 10000 species of reptiles are known to live on earth.
• All of these animals are diverse in structure as well as habitats. The extinct reptiles are even more diverse, ranging from aquatic plesiosaurs to meat-eating terrestrial dinosaurs, and occupying even more diverse ecosystems.
• The common reptiles present in the fauna of the earth include snakes, crocodiles, lizards, turtle, etc.

Read Also: 15 differences between amphibians and reptiles

References and Sources

• 1% – https://www.slideshare.net/lochini09/biology-1-34233973
• 1% – https://www.slideshare.net/delcriz/rainforest-41489142
• 1% – https://www.britannica.com/animal/reptile
• 1% – https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-flora-and-fauna.html
• 1% – https://gradeup.co/study-notes-on-flora-and-fauna-for-ctet–tet-exam-i
• 1% – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora_(plants)
• 1% – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fauna
• <1% – https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/flora
• <1% – https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/fauna
• <1% – https://www.toppr.com/guides/biology/anatomy-of-flowering-plants/plant-tissues/
• <1% – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0160412087900456
• <1% – https://www.answers.com/Q/List_of_plants_that_do_not_bear_flowers
• <1% – https://wikimili.com/en/Fauna
• <1% – https://targetstudy.com/nature/plants/
• <1% – https://owlcation.com/stem/Most-Dangerous-Animals-on-the-Planet
• <1% – http://www.gpedia.com/en/gpedia/Fauna
• <1% – http://bio1520.biology.gatech.edu/growth-and-reproduction/plant-development-i-tissue-differentiation-and-function/