Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat vs common fleabane

Sturnira koopmanhilli compared with Pulicaria dysenterica

Key Differences

• Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat is Data Deficient while common fleabane is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat	common fleabane
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Phyllostomidae	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Sturnira	Pulicaria
Species	Sturnira koopmanhilli	Pulicaria dysenterica

Conservation Status

Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat

DD — Data Deficient

common fleabane

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat	common fleabane
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.

common fleabane

Habitat

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

Range

Found across Europe (7 countries) and North America (United States).

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.

common fleabane

<em>Pulicaria dysenterica</em> is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the family Asteraceae within the order Asterales. Commonly known as common fleabane or elecampane, this species typically colonizes damp, disturbed habitats including marshes, riverbanks, roadsides, and wet meadows. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating stable and widespread populations. <em>Pulicaria dysenterica</em> is native to Europe and also occurs in the United States. The plant typically produces branching, woolly-stemmed growth reaching up to 60 centimeters in height, bearing yellow daisy-like flowerheads from mid to late summer that attract a range of pollinating insects. Its leaves are clasping and softly hairy, a characteristic that gives the plant a distinctly woolly appearance. Historically, the species was used in traditional medicine and as an insect repellent, with the common name reflecting both its reputed medicinal properties and the flea-deterring use of its dried foliage. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.