brown bear vs Coastal Silver-stiletto

Ursus arctos compared with Acrosathe annulata

Key Differences

• brown bear is Extinct while Coastal Silver-stiletto is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	brown bear	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Carnivora (Carnivorans)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Ursidae (Bears)	Therevidae
Genus	Ursus (Bears)	Acrosathe
Species	Ursus arctos	Acrosathe annulata

Evolutionary Relationship

brown bear and Coastal Silver-stiletto share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

brown bear

EX — Extinct

Population: ~200.0K

Trend: Stable →

Coastal Silver-stiletto

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	brown bear	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Diet	Omnivore	—
Average Lifespan	25 years	—
Average Length	2.0 m	—
Average Weight	300.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

brown bear

Habitat

Typically found in a wide range of habitat types.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries).

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

brown bear

The world's most widely distributed bear species, brown bears range from North America and Europe across Russia to Japan, occupying forests, tundra, and alpine meadows. Adults can weigh up to 700 kg in coastal Alaskan populations. Omnivores that consume berries, roots, fish, and carrion, brown bears are a keystone species that distribute nutrients across landscapes. Most populations are stable, though some subspecies are threatened.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden