brittlestar vs common horse fly

Amphiura chiajei compared with Haematopota pluvialis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	brittlestar	common horse fly
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Echinodermata (Echinoderms)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Ophiuroidea (Ophiuroidea)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Amphilepidida (Amphilepidida)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Amphiuridae	Tabanidae
Genus	Amphiura	Haematopota
Species	Amphiura chiajei	Haematopota pluvialis

Evolutionary Relationship

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

View Kingdom: Animalia

Conservation Status

brittlestar

LC — Least Concern

common horse fly

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	brittlestar	common horse fly
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

brittlestar

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

common horse fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

brittlestar

The Brittlestar (Amphiura chiajei) is a species in the genus Amphiura. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

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.