Coastal Flat-body vs

Agonopterix yeatiana compared with Comatricha pulchella

Key Differences

• Coastal Flat-body is Near Threatened while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal Flat-body
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Protozoa (protozoa)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Mycetozoa
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Myxomycetes (Myxomycetes)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Stemonitidales
Family	Depressariidae	Stemonitidaceae
Genus	Agonopterix	Comatricha
Species	Agonopterix yeatiana	Comatricha pulchella

Conservation Status

Coastal Flat-body

NT — Near Threatened

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal Flat-body
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coastal Flat-body

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (4 countries), and South America (Brazil).

Coastal Flat-body

Agonopterix yeatiana, the coastal flat-body, is a small moth in the family Depressariidae native to coastal and calcareous grassland habitats across western and northern Europe, with records from Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden. Moths in the family Depressariidae, commonly called flat-body moths due to the depressed posture they adopt when resting with wings held flat against the surface, are associated predominantly with umbellifer plants of the family Apiaceae as larval hosts. Agonopterix yeatiana larvae feed on wild carrot (Daucus carota), wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), and related coastal and grassland Apiaceae species, inhabiting the open, often calcareous or sandy habitats where these plants grow. Adult moths have greyish-brown forewing with a distinctive pattern of spots and dashes and reach approximately 8–12 millimeters in wingspan. The species is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, reflecting declines associated with the loss of traditional hay meadow management, coastal grassland degradation, and scrub encroachment that eliminates the open, flower-rich grassland habitats supporting its host plants. Agricultural intensification has reduced wild umbellifer populations significantly across lowland Europe, reducing food resources for larvae of specialist moths like A. yeatiana.

<em>Comatricha pulchella</em> is a myxomycete in the class Myxomycetes, order Stemonitidales, belonging to the genus <em>Comatricha</em>. The species name, meaning beautiful in Latin, may allude to the delicate aesthetic of its sporangia, which are characteristic of the genus in having a stalked structure with an internal filamentous capillitium. <em>C. pulchella</em> occurs on rotting wood and plant litter in moist, forested environments. Like other species in the genus, it progresses through a motile plasmodial feeding stage before developing into sporangia that release spores adapted for wind dispersal. The species contributes to decomposition within forest ecosystems by consuming bacteria and other microorganisms during the plasmodial phase. No geographic range data are specified in the current record. Quantitative biological metrics are not applicable to this organism, and it has not been evaluated by the IUCN.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden