Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat vs

Sturnira koopmanhilli compared with Clitocybe barbularum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Phyllostomidae	Tricholomataceae
Genus	Sturnira	Clitocybe
Species	Sturnira koopmanhilli	Clitocybe barbularum

Conservation Status

Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Ecuador.

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat

The Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat (Sturnira koopmanhilli) is a medium-sized frugivorous bat in the family Phyllostomidae, endemic to the Chocó biogeographic region of northwestern South America, where it occurs in the humid forests of the Pacific slope of Colombia and adjacent Ecuador. It belongs to the genus Sturnira — the yellow-shouldered bats — characterised by males bearing distinctive yellowish, orange, or reddish shoulder glands (from which the group's name derives), robust bodies, and rounded ears. Like all Sturnira, this species is primarily frugivorous, consuming a wide range of small, soft fruits from pioneer and forest trees, and plays an important role as a seed disperser in disturbed forest patches and forest edges. The diet of Solanaceae (nightshade family) fruits is particularly typical of the genus, and Sturnira bats are considered the primary dispersers of many pioneer Solanum species in Neotropical secondary succession, contributing directly to forest regeneration. The IUCN classifies the Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat as Data Deficient, reflecting significant uncertainty about the species' distribution limits, population size, and ecological requirements. The Chocó region continues to experience rapid deforestation, which threatens frugivorous bat diversity even where individual species lack adequate data for formal threat assessment.

Clitocybe barbularum is a small agaric fungus in the family Tricholomataceae occurring in Northern European temperate and boreal habitats, primarily documented from Scandinavian countries. It grows in grassy areas, woodland clearings, forest margins, and occasionally on disturbed ground, fruiting in late summer through autumn. The fruiting bodies are relatively small and inconspicuous with the characteristic Clitocybe form: a depressed to shallowly funnel-shaped cap, often whitish to pale greyish or buff, with crowded, decurrent gills and a slender stipe. The specific epithet barbularum suggests an association with particular microhabitats or substrates. As a saprotrophic fungus, C. barbularum plays a role in decomposing plant litter and returning nutrients to the soil ecosystem. The broader Clitocybe genus contains both edible and mildly toxic species, and smaller pale species are approached cautiously by foragers. This species reflects the high diversity of macrofungi in Scandinavian landscapes, where boreal and mixed forest systems support exceptional fungal biodiversity.