Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew vs Coastal Flat-body

Blarinella quadraticauda compared with Agonopterix yeatiana

Taxonomic Classification

Rank Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew Coastal Flat-body
Kingdom same Animalia (Animals) Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Chordata (Chordates) Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Mammalia (Mammals) Insecta (Insects)
Order Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha) Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family Soricidae Depressariidae
Genus Blarinella Agonopterix
Species Blarinella quadraticauda Agonopterix yeatiana

Evolutionary Relationship

Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew and Coastal Flat-body share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew

NT — Near Threatened

Coastal Flat-body

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew Coastal Flat-body
Diet — —
Average Lifespan — —
Average Length — —
Average Weight — —

Habitat & Geographic Range

Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.

Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew

The Asiatic Short-tailed Shrew (Blarinella quadraticauda) is a species in the genus Blarinella. It is currently classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.

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