Broad-eared Free-tailed Bat vs Cinerous Groundling

Nyctinomops laticaudatus compared with Bryotropha terrella

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Broad-eared Free-tailed Bat	Cinerous Groundling
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Molossidae	Gelechiidae
Genus	Nyctinomops	Bryotropha
Species	Nyctinomops laticaudatus	Bryotropha terrella

Evolutionary Relationship

Broad-eared Free-tailed Bat and Cinerous Groundling share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Broad-eared Free-tailed Bat

LC — Least Concern

Cinerous Groundling

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Broad-eared Free-tailed Bat	Cinerous Groundling
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Broad-eared Free-tailed Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

Cinerous Groundling

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Broad-eared Free-tailed Bat

The Broad-eared Free-tailed Bat (Nyctinomops laticaudatus) is a species in the genus Nyctinomops. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Cinerous Groundling

The cinerous groundling (Bryotropha terrella) is a small moth in the family Gelechiidae, distributed across Europe including Britain, Scandinavia, and much of continental Europe. It inhabits dry, open habitats such as heathland, sand dunes, chalk grassland, and dry grassland margins, where its larvae feed on mosses and low-growing plants close to the soil. The adult moth has pale straw-colored to gray-brown forewings with indistinct markings, providing camouflage in its dry, open habitat. Like many gelechiid moths, Bryotropha terrella is a small, inconspicuous species that is frequently under-recorded due to the challenges of identifying micro-moths. The species is classified as Least Concern, with populations found across a wide range of European countries with suitable dry, open habitat. Its larval association with mosses and low vegetation makes it dependent on short, open sward conditions—habitats that have declined in parts of Europe due to agricultural intensification, scrub encroachment following the abandonment of traditional grazing, and afforestation. Moth surveys using light traps and careful examination of micro-lepidoptera have expanded knowledge of this and related gelechiid species' distributions. Conservation of dry heathland and chalk grassland habitats benefits a wide range of invertebrates including this species.