Broad Buckler Fern vs Buckelwal

Dryopteris expansa compared with Megaptera novaeangliae

Key Differences

Broad Buckler Fern is Least Concern while Buckelwal is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Broad Buckler Fern	Buckelwal
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Dryopteridaceae	Balaenopteridae (Rorquals)
Genus	Dryopteris	Megaptera (Humpback Whales)
Species	Dryopteris expansa	Megaptera novaeangliae

Conservation Status

Broad Buckler Fern

LC — Least Concern

Buckelwal

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~80.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Broad Buckler Fern	Buckelwal
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	15.0 m
Average Weight	—	30.0 t

Habitat & Geographic Range

Broad Buckler Fern

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (7 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

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.

Broad Buckler Fern

The Broad Buckler Fern (Dryopteris expansa) is a species in the genus Dryopteris. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

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.