Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat vs cocobolo

Sturnira koopmanhilli compared with Dalbergia granadillo

Key Differences

• Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat is Data Deficient while cocobolo is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat	cocobolo
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Phyllostomidae	Fabaceae
Genus	Sturnira	Dalbergia
Species	Sturnira koopmanhilli	Dalbergia granadillo

Conservation Status

Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat

DD — Data Deficient

cocobolo

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat	cocobolo
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.

cocobolo

Habitat

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

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.

cocobolo

Cocobolo (Dalbergia granadillo) is a medium to large tropical hardwood tree in the family Fabaceae, native to the dry and moist forests of Pacific Mexico and Central America, from Jalisco and Colima south through Guerrero, Oaxaca, and Chiapas into Guatemala and Honduras. The species is one of the most prized commercial rosewoods in the world, producing exceptionally dense, fine-grained heartwood in rich tones of red, orange, and brown with contrasting darker grain lines; this wood is used in high-end guitar fingerboards, knife handles, turning, and decorative woodwork. Unfortunately, this commercial value has driven intense illegal logging across much of its range, leading the IUCN to classify Dalbergia granadillo as Critically Endangered — the highest threat category short of extinction in the wild. The species is listed in CITES Appendix II, requiring documentation of sustainable harvest for international trade. Remaining populations are heavily fragmented in degraded and secondary forest, with mature trees of commercial size increasingly scarce. The slow growth rate of the species means that recovery of logged populations takes decades. Conservation initiatives include reforestation programmes, strengthening of enforcement against illegal logging, community-based forestry schemes, and research into propagation for plantation production as an alternative to wild harvest. Without effective action, Dalbergia granadillo faces continued population decline and potential extirpation from parts of its natural range.