Coiban Mastuff Bat vs Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet

Molossus coibensis compared with Zygaena lonicerae

Key Differences

• Coiban Mastuff Bat is Least Concern while Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coiban Mastuff Bat	Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Chiroptera (Bats)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Molossidae	Zygaenidae
Genus	Molossus	Zygaena
Species	Molossus coibensis	Zygaena lonicerae

Evolutionary Relationship

Coiban Mastuff Bat and Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Coiban Mastuff Bat

LC — Least Concern

Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coiban Mastuff Bat	Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet
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.

Narrow-bordered Five-spot Burnet

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

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

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.