cocobolo vs Common Echymipera

Dalbergia granadillo compared with Echymipera kalubu

Key Differences

• cocobolo is Critically Endangered while Common Echymipera is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	cocobolo	Common Echymipera
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Peramelemorphia (Peramelemorphia)
Family	Fabaceae	Peramelidae
Genus	Dalbergia	Echymipera
Species	Dalbergia granadillo	Echymipera kalubu

Conservation Status

cocobolo

CR — Critically Endangered

Common Echymipera

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	cocobolo	Common Echymipera
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

cocobolo

Habitat

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

Common Echymipera

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

cocobolo

Cocobolo (Dalbergia granadillo) is a medium to large tropical hardwood tree in the family Fabaceae, native to the dry and moist forests of Pacific Mexico and Central America, from Jalisco and Colima south through Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas into Guatemala and Honduras. The species is one of the most prized commercial rosewoods in the world, producing exceptionally dense, fine-grained heartwood in rich tones of red, orange, and brown with contrasting darker grain lines; this wood is used in high-end guitar fingerboards, knife handles, turning, and decorative woodwork. Unfortunately, this commercial value has driven intense illegal logging across much of its range, leading the IUCN to classify Dalbergia granadillo as Critically Endangered — the highest threat category short of extinction in the wild. The species is listed in CITES Appendix II, requiring documentation of sustainable harvest for international trade. Remaining populations are heavily fragmented in degraded and secondary forest, with mature trees of commercial size increasingly scarce. The slow growth rate of the species means that recovery of logged populations takes decades. Conservation initiatives include reforestation programmes, strengthening of enforcement against illegal logging, community-based forestry schemes, and research into propagation for plantation production as an alternative to wild harvest. Without effective action, Dalbergia granadillo faces continued population decline and potential extirpation from parts of its natural range.

Common Echymipera

<em>Echymipera kalubu</em>, the common echymipera, is a spiny bandicoot in the order Peramelemorphia, family Peramelidae, classified as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. Geographic range data for this species are limited; it is associated with diverse terrestrial and aquatic habitats in its distribution area, which encompasses parts of New Guinea and nearby islands in the Australasian region. Like other members of its family, <em>Echymipera kalubu</em> is a small to medium-sized marsupial with a pointed snout, compact body, and coarse, spiny fur that provides protection against predators. Bandicoots are omnivorous foragers, typically using their elongated snouts to probe soil and leaf litter for invertebrates, plant tubers, fungi, and small vertebrates. <em>Echymipera kalubu</em> is nocturnal and typically solitary, with individuals occupying home ranges in forest, scrub, and disturbed habitats. The species reproduces with a relatively short gestation period, characteristic of marsupials, with young completing development attached to teats within the mother's backward-opening pouch. Bandicoots perform important ecosystem functions as soil disturbers and seed dispersers. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.