Coastal Flat-body vs Common Murre

Agonopterix yeatiana compared with Uria aalge

Key Differences

• Coastal Flat-body is Near Threatened while Common Murre is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal Flat-body	Common Murre
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Charadriiformes (Charadriiformes)
Family	Depressariidae	Alcidae
Genus	Agonopterix	Uria
Species	Agonopterix yeatiana	Uria aalge

Evolutionary Relationship

Coastal Flat-body and Common Murre share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Coastal Flat-body

NT — Near Threatened

Common Murre

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal Flat-body	Common Murre
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.

Common Murre

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.

Common Murre

<em>Uria aalge</em>, the common murre or common guillemot, is a seabird in the family Alcidae found across the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans. This colonial cliff-nesting bird typically breeds on rocky coastal ledges and sea stacks, often in dense aggregations that may number in the thousands. <em>Uria aalge</em> is a highly capable diver, using its wings to propel itself underwater in pursuit of fish, sand eels, and invertebrates. It is found in coastal and offshore marine waters during the non-breeding season, ranging across the northern seas. Recorded occurrence countries include Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. Despite its wide distribution and historically large numbers, the common murre is currently assessed as Critically Endangered in certain regional contexts, with populations threatened by oil spills, bycatch in fishing nets, food web disruptions linked to climate change, and disturbance at breeding colonies. Biological traits such as lifespan, body size, and diet remain poorly documented at the population level for this species across its full range, though it is known to be a piscivore. The species is a key indicator of marine ecosystem health and a focus of ongoing seabird conservation efforts.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden