Kakaopflanze vs Kolumbianischer Nachtaffe

Theobroma cacao compared with Aotus lemurinus

Key Differences

Kakaopflanze is Not Evaluated while Kolumbianischer Nachtaffe is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Kakaopflanze	Kolumbianischer Nachtaffe
Kingdom	Plantae (Pflanzen)	Animalia (Tier)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordatiere)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Säugetiere)
Order	Malvales (Malvenartige)	Primates (Primaten)
Family	Malvaceae	Aotidae
Genus	Theobroma	Aotus
Species	Theobroma cacao	Aotus lemurinus

Conservation Status

Kakaopflanze

NE — Not Evaluated

Kolumbianischer Nachtaffe

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Kakaopflanze	Kolumbianischer Nachtaffe
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Kakaopflanze

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (7 countries), Asia (Laos, Philippines, Taiwan), North America (Costa Rica), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

Kolumbianischer Nachtaffe

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Kakaopflanze

Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) is a small tropical tree in the family Malvaceae, native to the humid lowland forests of the Amazon basin and Mesoamerica, where it originated in domestication by pre-Columbian civilisations — notably the Maya and Aztec — who consumed fermented cacao beverages in ritual and elite contexts for millennia before European contact. Cultivated commercially across the humid tropics today, primarily in West Africa (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria), Southeast Asia, and Latin America, it is one of the world's most economically significant crop plants. Growing to 4–10 metres under cultivation, the tree bears distinctive cauliflorous flowers — produced directly on the main trunk and large branches — that are pollinated by tiny midges of the genus Forcipomyia. The large, ribbed pods develop on the trunk and branches, enclosing 20–50 seeds embedded in a sweet white pulp. After harvest, seeds undergo controlled fermentation and drying to develop the complex chemical precursors of chocolate flavour. The seeds contain methylxanthines including theobromine and caffeine, as well as flavonoid antioxidants. Theobroma cacao has not been assessed on the IUCN Red List, though wild populations in its native Amazonian and Mesoamerican range face pressure from deforestation. Commercial production relies on a narrow genetic base and faces growing threats from fungal diseases including witches' broom and frosty pod rot.