Clouded Leopard vs Coastal Silver-stiletto

Neofelis nebulosa compared with Acrosathe annulata

Key Differences

• Clouded Leopard is Vulnerable while Coastal Silver-stiletto is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clouded Leopard	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Carnivora (Carnivorans)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Felidae (Cats)	Therevidae
Genus	Neofelis (Clouded Leopards)	Acrosathe
Species	Neofelis nebulosa	Acrosathe annulata

Evolutionary Relationship

Clouded Leopard and Coastal Silver-stiletto share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Clouded Leopard

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~10.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Coastal Silver-stiletto

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clouded Leopard	Coastal Silver-stiletto
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	15 years	—
Average Length	1.0 m	—
Average Weight	20.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Clouded Leopard

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 11 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Coastal Silver-stiletto

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Clouded Leopard

A medium-sized wild cat weighing up to 26 kg, clouded leopards inhabit tropical and subtropical forests from the eastern Himalayas through Southeast Asia to Borneo. Named for their distinctive cloud-like coat markings, they possess the longest canine teeth relative to skull size of any wild cat and are exceptional climbers able to descend trees headfirst. Vulnerable due to deforestation, though the total population remains poorly known.

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.