Air yam vs Cheetah

Dioscorea bulbifera compared with Acinonyx jubatus

Key Differences

Air yam is Not Evaluated while Cheetah is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Air yam	Cheetah
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Dioscoreales (Dioscoreales)	Carnivora (Carnivorans)
Family	Dioscoreaceae	Felidae (Cats)
Genus	Dioscorea	Acinonyx (Cheetahs)
Species	Dioscorea bulbifera	Acinonyx jubatus

Conservation Status

Air yam

NE — Not Evaluated

Cheetah

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~6.7K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Air yam	Cheetah
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	12 years
Average Length	—	1.5 m
Average Weight	—	50.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Air yam

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (5 countries), Asia (4 countries), North America (13 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (9 countries), and South America (4 countries).

Cheetah

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

Range

Distributed across Botswana, Iran, Kenya, Namibia, and Tanzania. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Air yam

The Air yam (Dioscorea bulbifera) is a species in the genus Dioscorea. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Cheetah

The fastest land animal on Earth, reaching speeds of 112 km/h over short distances across African and Iranian grasslands. Slender build with a deep chest, long legs, and distinctive black tear-stripe markings. Unlike other big cats, cheetahs vocalize with chirps and purrs. Vulnerable, with only ~7,000 remaining due to habitat fragmentation and competition with larger predators.