vs Coastal Silver-stiletto

Chroococcus minor compared with Acrosathe annulata

Key Differences

is Not Evaluated while Coastal Silver-stiletto is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		Coastal Silver-stiletto
Kingdom	Bacteria (Bacteria)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Cyanobacteria (Cyanobacteria)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Cyanobacteriia	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Cyanobacteriales	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Microcystaceae	Therevidae
Genus	Chroococcus	Acrosathe
Species	Chroococcus minor	Acrosathe annulata

Conservation Status

NE — Not Evaluated

Coastal Silver-stiletto

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		Coastal Silver-stiletto
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Native to Asia and Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Norway, Sweden, and Taiwan.

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Chroococcus minor is a species of cyanobacteria in the family Chroococcaceae, characterized by small spherical cells that occur singly or in pairs within a gelatinous envelope. Like other members of the genus, it is distributed across a range of freshwater and aquatic habitats in temperate regions. Chroococcus species are among the most commonly encountered coccoid cyanobacteria in plankton and periphyton surveys of freshwater ecosystems. They reproduce by binary fission, with daughter cells typically remaining enclosed within the parent sheath for one to two division cycles before dispersing. The blue-green to olive coloration of the cells reflects the presence of phycocyanin, phycoerythrin, and chlorophyll a within specialized membrane structures called thylakoids, which are located in the peripheral cytoplasm. Chroococcus minor has been recorded from Scandinavian and other European freshwater localities. It is representative of the diverse cyanobacterial communities that inhabit the plankton of clear, low-nutrient lakes and the periphyton of streams and lake margins. As a prokaryotic microorganism, its conservation status has not been formally assessed.

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Coastal silver stiletto (Acrosathe annulata) is a slender robber fly in the family Therevidae, native to northwestern Europe, including the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Scandinavia. Adults are found on coastal sand dunes and sandy heathland, where they perch on bare sand to ambush small flying insects. Stiletto flies in the family Therevidae are characterised by a slender body, long pointed abdomen, and predatory habits; adults prey on a variety of small dipterans and other flying insects during warm, sunny periods. Larvae develop in sandy soil, where they are also predatory, feeding on other invertebrate larvae. Acrosathe annulata is a habitat specialist restricted to open, sandy coastal habitats with sparse vegetation—environments that have declined substantially across northwestern Europe due to dune stabilisation, recreational disturbance, and the cessation of traditional dune management. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern, though regional conservation bodies in the United Kingdom have flagged population declines. It is considered an indicator of high-quality coastal sand dune habitats and is monitored through national invertebrate surveys.