Atlantic Ancula vs common horse fly

Ancula gibbosa compared with Haematopota pluvialis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Atlantic Ancula	common horse fly
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Nudibranchia (Nudibranchia)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Goniodorididae	Tabanidae
Genus	Ancula	Haematopota
Species	Ancula gibbosa	Haematopota pluvialis

Evolutionary Relationship

Atlantic Ancula and common horse fly share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Atlantic Ancula

LC — Least Concern

common horse fly

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Atlantic Ancula	common horse fly
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Atlantic Ancula

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

common horse fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Atlantic Ancula

The Atlantic Ancula (Ancula gibbosa) is a species in the genus Ancula. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

common horse fly

<em>Haematopota pluvialis</em>, commonly known as the common horse fly, is a blood-feeding dipteran insect in the family Tabanidae. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The species is recorded from Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, with a distribution centered in northwestern Europe, where it typically inhabits moist, vegetated areas near water bodies, woodland margins, and pastures. Female horse flies are well known as ectoparasites of large mammals, while males are primarily nectar feeders. Diet information beyond this general feeding ecology is not available in current species records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden