Coiban Mastuff Bat vs Dotted Firefly

Molossus coibensis compared with Lucidota punctata

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coiban Mastuff Bat	Dotted Firefly
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Coleoptera (Beetles)
Family	Molossidae	Lampyridae
Genus	Molossus	Lucidota
Species	Molossus coibensis	Lucidota punctata

Evolutionary Relationship

Coiban Mastuff Bat and Dotted Firefly share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Coiban Mastuff Bat

LC — Least Concern

Dotted Firefly

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coiban Mastuff Bat	Dotted Firefly
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coiban Mastuff Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

Dotted Firefly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States.

Coiban Mastuff Bat

The Coiban Mastuff Bat (Molossus coibensis) is a small free-tailed bat in the family Molossidae, named for Coiba Island off the Pacific coast of Panama, where specimens were first collected. Members of the genus Molossus are robust, fast-flying insectivores adapted to open-air foraging above the forest canopy and over water, characterised by narrow wings and a tail that extends beyond the patagium (wing membrane). Molossus coibensis inhabits lowland tropical forests and adjacent open habitats in Central America and northwestern South America, with confirmed records from Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Panama, indicating a distributional range that extends well beyond its type locality on Coiba Island. Like other mastiff bats, it roosts in crevices within buildings, rock faces, and hollow trees, emerging at dusk to pursue aerial insects at speed. The species feeds primarily on large beetles, moths, and other night-flying insects, typically hunted high above the forest. It is assessed as Least Concern by the IUCN based on its relatively wide range and tolerance of modified habitats. Molossus coibensis was long treated as a subspecies of Molossus molossus before being recognised as a distinct species based on morphological and molecular evidence. Ecological and life-history data specific to this taxon remain limited.