Cat flea vs Coiban Mastuff Bat

Ctenocephalides felis compared with Molossus coibensis

Key Differences

• Cat flea is Not Evaluated while Coiban Mastuff Bat is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cat flea	Coiban Mastuff Bat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Siphonaptera (Siphonaptera)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Pulicidae	Molossidae
Genus	Ctenocephalides	Molossus
Species	Ctenocephalides felis	Molossus coibensis

Evolutionary Relationship

Cat flea and Coiban Mastuff Bat share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Cat flea

NE — Not Evaluated

Coiban Mastuff Bat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cat flea	Coiban Mastuff Bat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cat flea

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Europe (6 countries), and North America (United States).

Coiban Mastuff Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

Cat flea

The Cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) is a species in the genus Ctenocephalides. Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

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.