Bearded Tooth vs Buckelwal

Hericium erinaceus compared with Megaptera novaeangliae

Key Differences

Bearded Tooth is Critically Endangered while Buckelwal is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bearded Tooth	Buckelwal
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Russulales (Russulales)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Hericiaceae	Balaenopteridae (Rorquals)
Genus	Hericium	Megaptera (Humpback Whales)
Species	Hericium erinaceus	Megaptera novaeangliae

Conservation Status

Bearded Tooth

CR — Critically Endangered

Buckelwal

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~80.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bearded Tooth	Buckelwal
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	15.0 m
Average Weight	—	30.0 t

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bearded Tooth

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests spanning the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), and North America (United States). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Buckelwal

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 11 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Bearded Tooth

The Bearded Tooth (Hericium erinaceus) is a species in the genus Hericium. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests spanning the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms.

Buckelwal

Among the most acrobatic of the great whales, humpback whales are renowned for their complex, haunting songs sung by males during breeding season — some lasting hours and evolving over time. Reaching 16 meters and 30 tonnes, they undertake the longest migrations of any mammal. Found in all oceans, humpbacks feed on krill and small fish using cooperative bubble-net feeding. Populations have largely recovered from historic whaling.