Big Finner vs Floating Fern

Balaenoptera physalus compared with Salvinia natans

Key Differences

• Big Finner is Endangered while Floating Fern is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Big Finner	Floating Fern
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Tracheophyta
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)	Salviniales (Salviniales)
Family	Balaenopteridae (Rorquals)	Salviniaceae
Genus	Balaenoptera (Rorquals)	Salvinia
Species	Balaenoptera physalus	Salvinia natans

Conservation Status

Big Finner

EN — Endangered

Floating Fern

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Big Finner	Floating Fern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Big Finner

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 4 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

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

Floating Fern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (4 countries), Europe (9 countries), North America (Honduras), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

Big Finner

Big Finner (Balaenoptera physalus) is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. At high risk of extinction in the wild, with significant population decline and ongoing threats to survival.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇼 Taiwan