Buckelwal vs Climbing Star-apple

Megaptera novaeangliae compared with Diospyros simii

Key Differences

Buckelwal is Vulnerable while Climbing Star-apple is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Buckelwal	Climbing Star-apple
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)	Ericales (Ericales)
Family	Balaenopteridae (Rorquals)	Ebenaceae
Genus	Megaptera (Humpback Whales)	Diospyros
Species	Megaptera novaeangliae	Diospyros simii

Conservation Status

Buckelwal

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~80.0K

Trend: Increasing ↑

Climbing Star-apple

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Buckelwal	Climbing Star-apple
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	50 years	—
Average Length	15.0 m	—
Average Weight	30.0 t	—

Habitat & Geographic 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.

Climbing Star-apple

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

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.

Climbing Star-apple

Climbing Star Apple, Landolphia species, is a genus of woody, climbing lianas and scrambling shrubs in the family Apocynaceae native to tropical and subtropical Africa. Landolphia species were historically important as sources of wild rubber; the latex from cut stems and roots was a major commercial rubber source in central Africa before Hevea brasiliensis became dominant, and its exploitation under Belgian colonial rule in the Congo Free State caused widespread human rights abuses in the late 19th century. The common name 'star apple' relates to the edible fruits produced by several species, which are large, yellow or greenish, with a sweet pulp surrounding the seeds. The fragrant flowers are white and produced in terminal clusters, pollinated by insects. Landolphia species grow in tropical forest margins, secondary forest, and gallery forest across sub-Saharan Africa, where they play an important role in forest structure by connecting canopy layers. The edible fruits are consumed by wildlife and by local human communities. Several Landolphia species are used in traditional medicine for treating a variety of ailments. Conservation status varies among species; some with restricted ranges in heavily deforested areas face threat from habitat loss.