butterfly-pea vs Coiban Mastuff Bat

Centrosema virginianum compared with Molossus coibensis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	butterfly-pea	Coiban Mastuff Bat
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Fabaceae	Molossidae
Genus	Centrosema	Molossus
Species	Centrosema virginianum	Molossus coibensis

Conservation Status

butterfly-pea

LC — Least Concern

Coiban Mastuff Bat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	butterfly-pea	Coiban Mastuff Bat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

butterfly-pea

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Brazil, Colombia, and India.

Coiban Mastuff Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

butterfly-pea

The Butterfly-pea (Centrosema virginianum) is a species in the genus Centrosema. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Coiban Mastuff Bat

The Coiban Mastuff Bat (Molossus coibensis) is a small free-tailed bat in the family Molossidae, named for Coiba Island off the Pacific coast of Panama, where specimens were first collected. Members of the genus Molossus are robust, fast-flying insectivores adapted to open-air foraging above the forest canopy and over water, characterised by narrow wings and a tail that extends beyond the patagium (wing membrane). Molossus coibensis inhabits lowland tropical forests and adjacent open habitats in Central America and northwestern South America, with confirmed records from Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Panama, indicating a distributional range that extends well beyond its type locality on Coiba Island. Like other mastiff bats, it roosts in crevices within buildings, rock faces, and hollow trees, emerging at dusk to pursue aerial insects at speed. The species feeds primarily on large beetles, moths, and other night-flying insects, typically hunted high above the forest. It is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN based on its relatively wide range and tolerance of modified habitats. Molossus coibensis was long treated as a subspecies of Molossus molossus before being recognised as a distinct species based on morphological and molecular evidence. Ecological and life-history data specific to this taxon remain limited.