Bilberry Roller vs Clinging Snakefern

Ancylis myrtillana compared with Microgramma heterophylla

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bilberry Roller	Clinging Snakefern
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Tracheophyta
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)
Family	Tortricidae	Polypodiaceae
Genus	Ancylis	Microgramma
Species	Ancylis myrtillana	Microgramma heterophylla

Conservation Status

Bilberry Roller

LC — Least Concern

Clinging Snakefern

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Bilberry Roller	Clinging Snakefern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bilberry Roller

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Clinging Snakefern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Found in Cuba.

Bilberry Roller

The Bilberry Roller (Ancylis myrtillana) is a species in the genus Ancylis. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Clinging Snakefern

Clinging Snakefern, Microgramma species, is a genus of small epiphytic ferns in the family Polypodiaceae found in tropical and subtropical forests of the Americas, from Florida and the Caribbean through Central America to South America. The ferns cling tightly to tree bark and rock surfaces using creeping rhizomes with specialized clinging scales, making them true epiphytes that depend entirely on the host surface for physical support while deriving all their water and nutrients from rainfall and atmospheric deposition. The common name 'snakefern' refers to the slender, creeping rhizomes that resemble snakes threading through moss and bark. The fronds are small and simple, either entirely fertile bearing sori on their undersurface or sterile with entire margins. Clinging snakeferns contribute to the high epiphyte diversity of tropical forest canopies and are important components of the moss-and-lichen matrix on tree trunks in humid forests. They are sensitive to moisture availability and desiccation and are among the first species to decline when humid forest is cleared or fragmented. Several Microgramma species are used as ornamental plants in warm-climate gardens for their ability to creep over rocks and tree stumps. Conservation status varies by species within the genus.