Adder’S-Mouth vs Coastal Flat-body

Malaxis bayardii compared with Agonopterix yeatiana

Key Differences

• Adder’S-Mouth is Critically Endangered while Coastal Flat-body is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Adder’S-Mouth	Coastal Flat-body
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Asparagales (Asparagales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Orchidaceae	Depressariidae
Genus	Malaxis	Agonopterix
Species	Malaxis bayardii	Agonopterix yeatiana

Conservation Status

Adder’S-Mouth

CR — Critically Endangered

Coastal Flat-body

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Adder’S-Mouth	Coastal Flat-body
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Adder’S-Mouth

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Coastal Flat-body

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Adder’S-Mouth

The Adder’S-Mouth (Malaxis bayardii) is a species in the genus Malaxis. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. This species inhabits Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes, found across Canada and United States.

Coastal Flat-body

Agonopterix yeatiana, the coastal flat-body, is a small moth in the family Depressariidae native to coastal and calcareous grassland habitats across western and northern Europe, with records from Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden. Moths in the family Depressariidae, commonly called flat-body moths due to the depressed posture they adopt when resting with wings held flat against the surface, are associated predominantly with umbellifer plants of the family Apiaceae as larval hosts. Agonopterix yeatiana larvae feed on wild carrot (Daucus carota), wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), and related coastal and grassland Apiaceae species, inhabiting the open, often calcareous or sandy habitats where these plants grow. Adult moths have greyish-brown forewing with a distinctive pattern of spots and dashes and reach approximately 8–12 millimeters in wingspan. The species is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, reflecting declines associated with the loss of traditional hay meadow management, coastal grassland degradation, and scrub encroachment that eliminates the open, flower-rich grassland habitats supporting its host plants. Agricultural intensification has reduced wild umbellifer populations significantly across lowland Europe, reducing food resources for larvae of specialist moths like A. yeatiana.