Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat vs Rufous-bellied Nighthawk

Sturnira koopmanhilli compared with Lurocalis rufiventris

Key Differences

• Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat is Data Deficient while Rufous-bellied Nighthawk is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat	Rufous-bellied Nighthawk
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Caprimulgiformes (Caprimulgiformes)
Family	Phyllostomidae	Caprimulgidae
Genus	Sturnira	Lurocalis
Species	Sturnira koopmanhilli	Lurocalis rufiventris

Evolutionary Relationship

Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat and Rufous-bellied Nighthawk share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat

DD — Data Deficient

Rufous-bellied Nighthawk

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Choco Yellow-shouldered Bat	Rufous-bellied Nighthawk
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.

Rufous-bellied Nighthawk

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador