Bearded seal vs Choke

Erignathus barbatus compared with Epichloe typhina

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bearded seal	Choke
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Sordariomycetes (Sordariomycetes)
Order	Pinnipedia (Seals & Sea Lions)	Hypocreales (Hypocreales)
Family	Phocidae (True Seals)	Clavicipitaceae
Genus	Erignathus	Epichloe
Species	Erignathus barbatus	Epichloe typhina

Conservation Status

Bearded seal

NE — Not Evaluated

Choke

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bearded seal	Choke
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bearded seal

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

Choke

Habitat

Native to North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in United States.

Bearded seal

The Bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) is a species in the genus Erignathus. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Choke

Choke (Epichloe typhina) is an endophytic and pathogenic fungus in the family Clavicipitaceae, phylum Ascomycota, that colonises the tissues of various cool-season grasses (Poaceae) across Europe and North America. The name refers to the disease it causes — infected grass tillers are typically 'choked' (prevented from flowering) when the fungus produces a dense, white to cream-coloured, stromata (a compact fungal structure) that surrounds the flowering stem before it can emerge, suppressing seed production. Epichloe species exist along a mutualism-parasitism continuum; some strains are biotrophic endophytes living almost entirely within grass tissues without obvious symptoms and conferring benefits to the host such as increased drought resistance and deterrence of herbivores through alkaloid production, while others — including E. typhina — are more parasitic in nature, sterilising infected host tillers. The fungus spreads via airborne ascospores produced on its stroma that infect new host plants. Related Epichloe/Neotyphodium endophytes are of great practical importance to agriculture as they produce ergot alkaloids and other compounds that can cause toxicosis in livestock grazing infected pasture grasses. As a fungal pathogen/endophyte rather than a wildlife species, it is Not Evaluated by the IUCN.