Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail vs Coastal Silver-stiletto

Aetholitis gerdesae compared with Acrosathe annulata

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Stylommatophora (Stylommatophora)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Camaenidae	Therevidae
Genus	Aetholitis	Acrosathe
Species	Aetholitis gerdesae	Acrosathe annulata

Evolutionary Relationship

Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail and Coastal Silver-stiletto share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail

LC — Least Concern

Coastal Silver-stiletto

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail

Habitat

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

Range

Found in Australia.

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail

The Bellenden Ker Scaly Snail (Aetholitis gerdesae) is a species in the genus Aetholitis. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Coastal silver stiletto (Acrosathe annulata) is a slender robber fly in the family Therevidae, native to northwestern Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. Adults are found on coastal sand dunes and sandy heathland, where they perch on bare sand to ambush small flying insects. Stiletto flies in the family Therevidae are characterised by a slender body, long pointed abdomen, and predatory habits; adults prey on a variety of small dipterans and other flying insects during warm, sunny periods. Larvae develop in sandy soil, where they are also predatory, feeding on other invertebrate larvae. Acrosathe annulata is a habitat specialist restricted to open, sandy coastal habitats with sparse vegetation—environments that have declined substantially across northwestern Europe due to dune stabilisation, recreational disturbance, and the cessation of traditional dune management. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though regional conservation bodies in the United Kingdom have flagged population declines. It is considered an indicator of high-quality coastal sand dune habitats and is monitored through national invertebrate surveys.