Clustered Holly vs Schwertwal

Ilex aggregata compared with Orcinus orca

Key Differences

Clustered Holly is Least Concern while Schwertwal is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clustered Holly	Schwertwal
Kingdom	Plantae (Pflanzen)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordatiere)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Säugetiere)
Order	Aquifoliales (Stechpalmenartige)	Cetacea (Whales & Dolphins)
Family	Aquifoliaceae	Delphinidae (Oceanic Dolphins)
Genus	Ilex	Orcinus (Orcas)
Species	Ilex aggregata	Orcinus orca

Conservation Status

Clustered Holly

LC — Least Concern

Schwertwal

DD — Data Deficient

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Unknown ?

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clustered Holly	Schwertwal
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	8.0 m
Average Weight	—	5.4 t

Habitat & Geographic Range

Clustered Holly

Habitat

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

Schwertwal

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 (4 countries), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela).

Clustered Holly

Ilex aggregata is a holly in the family Aquifoliaceae. The genus Ilex is the largest genus in its family, comprising approximately 600 species distributed across tropical and subtropical regions of all continents except Antarctica and Australia, with diversity centers in South America and Asia. I. aggregata appears to be a South American or neotropical species, consistent with the high diversity of the genus in that region. Hollies are evergreen or deciduous shrubs and trees with typically leathery, often spiny leaves. They are dioecious, with male and female flowers borne on separate plants, and produce characteristic fleshy drupes (berries) that are often red, orange, or black when ripe, providing food for birds and other frugivores that disperse the seeds. Many Ilex species are adapted to forest understory, forest margins, and montane habitats. Holly berries and leaves are generally toxic to mammals, though consumed by certain birds. I. aggregata is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN. Detailed habitat and distribution data for this species are limited in publicly available records.

Schwertwal

The largest member of the dolphin family, orcas reach up to 9 meters and 6 tonnes and are found in every ocean from Arctic to Antarctic. Apex predators living in matrilineal pods with distinct dialects, hunting strategies, and cultural traditions that differ between populations. Some populations specialize in fish, others in marine mammals. No natural predators; orcas sit at the top of every marine food chain they inhabit.