Fiveangled dodder vs Long-tailed Sylph

Cuscuta pentagona compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Fiveangled dodder is Not Evaluated while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Fiveangled dodder	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (نباتات)	Animalia (حيوانات)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (كاسيات البذور)	Chordata (حبليات)
Class	Magnoliopsida (ماغنولانية)	Aves (طيور)
Order	Solanales (باذنجانيات)	Apodiformes (سماميات)
Family	Convolvulaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Cuscuta	Aglaiocercus
Species	Cuscuta pentagona	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Fiveangled dodder

NE — Not Evaluated

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Fiveangled dodder	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Fiveangled dodder

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (4 countries), Asia (9 countries), Europe (Norway, Poland, Romania), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Fiji, Micronesia), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Long-tailed Sylph

One of the most strikingly ornamented hummingbirds, male long-tailed sylphs have iridescent green plumage and dramatically elongated, ribbon-like outer tail feathers reaching up to 22 cm — over three times the body length. Found in Andean cloud forests of Colombia and Venezuela, they inhabit humid montane forest between 1,400–2,800 meters elevation. Males perform elaborate display flights to attract females. Their extravagant tails are a classic example of sexual selection via female preference.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇳🇴 Norway