black-calabash vs Komoren-Quastenflosser

Amphitecna latifolia compared with Latimeria chalumnae

Key Differences

• black-calabash is Least Concern while Komoren-Quastenflosser is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	black-calabash	Komoren-Quastenflosser
Kingdom	Plantae (Pflanzen)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordatiere)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Coelacanthi (Coelacanthi)
Order	Lamiales (Lippenblütlerartige)	Coelacanthiformes (Quastenflosser)
Family	Bignoniaceae	Latimeriidae
Genus	Amphitecna	Latimeria
Species	Amphitecna latifolia	Latimeria chalumnae

Conservation Status

black-calabash

LC — Least Concern

Komoren-Quastenflosser

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~500

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	black-calabash	Komoren-Quastenflosser
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	100 years
Average Length	—	1.8 m
Average Weight	—	80.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

black-calabash

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Cuba.

Komoren-Quastenflosser

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 8 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Afrotropic and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Comoros, Indonesia, Mozambique, and South Africa. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

black-calabash

The Black-calabash (Amphitecna latifolia) is a species in the genus Amphitecna. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Komoren-Quastenflosser

A living fossil thought extinct for 65 million years until rediscovered off South Africa in 1938, coelacanths can reach 2 meters and 90 kg. They belong to an ancient lobe-finned lineage more closely related to tetrapods than to ray-finned fish, making them scientifically invaluable for understanding vertebrate evolution. Found in deep rocky reef habitats of the Indian Ocean, they are nocturnal and undergo internal fertilization, giving birth to fully formed live young. Critically Endangered.