Can "is similar to that " be used with anything other than "of"?

Question

A common construct for comparison (making parallels) is "the X of A is similar to that of B". Quoting an example here

... the animals' situation is similar to that of the plants.

which is equivalent to

the situation of the animals is similar to that (i.e. the situation) of the plants.

I often wondered whether this construct can be extended to make parallels in more complex scenarios, where one needs to compare or contrast two relationships (between two pairs of objects). A contrived example is as follows:

"The difference between werewolfs and vampires is similar to that (i.e. the difference) between wolfs and bats."

Here, what I am trying to compare are two relations: the one between werewolfs and vampires and the one between wolfs and bats.

As the two relations are each between a pair of objects, should one say

"... is similar to that between X and Y"?

If not, what is the proper way to express such comparisons/parallels?

(I thought about using such patterns from time to time, but haven't seen it used. Hence the question here.)

Answer 1

Yes, you can do exactly what you want in exactly the way you show in your example.

The difference between werewolves and vampires is similar to that between wolves and bats.

Or, if it feels more right to you, you may avoid the pronoun "that":

The difference between werewolves and vampires is similar to the difference between wolves and bats.

Although it is (in my experience) more common to avoid the pronoun "that" when expressing similarities between differences, this is perfectly fine English and is consistent with the pattern employed in "of" constructions--the only difference being the use of a different preposition. Both "of" and "between" function as prepositions in these use cases. If in doubt, however, prefer avoiding the pronoun "that". It sounds just fine that way and is perfectly clear.