Climbing Cactus vs Heller's Broad-nosed Bat

Epiphyllum phyllanthus compared with Platyrrhinus helleri

Key Differences

Climbing Cactus is Not Evaluated while Heller's Broad-nosed Bat is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Climbing Cactus	Heller's Broad-nosed Bat
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Cactaceae	Phyllostomidae
Genus	Epiphyllum	Platyrrhinus
Species	Epiphyllum phyllanthus	Platyrrhinus helleri

Conservation Status

Climbing Cactus

NE — Not Evaluated

Heller's Broad-nosed Bat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Climbing Cactus	Heller's Broad-nosed Bat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Climbing Cactus

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Australia, Brazil, and Colombia.

Heller's Broad-nosed Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

Climbing Cactus

Climbing Cactus is a common name applied to several species in the cactus family Cactaceae that have adopted a climbing or scrambling growth habit, clinging to trees, rock faces, and other supports using aerial roots or woody stems, rather than the upright or columnar forms typical of desert-dwelling cacti. Notable climbing cacti include species of Selenicereus, Hylocereus, and Epiphyllum, found in tropical and subtropical forests of Central and South America and the Caribbean. These species are often epiphytic or hemi-epiphytic, growing from forest floor to canopy by scrambling up tree trunks or clambering over rocks in humid forest environments. Many climbing cacti produce large, spectacular nocturnal flowers pollinated by bats and hawk moths, which are attracted to fragrant, white blooms opening for a single night. The dragon fruit (Hylocereus undatus) is the commercially most important climbing cactus, cultivated globally for its brightly colored, edible pitayas. Some climbing cactus species have very restricted natural ranges in tropical dry forests and coastal scrub and are threatened by habitat loss. Others have become invasive in parts of Africa, Asia, and the Pacific where they were introduced as ornamentals or for their fruit.