Common cattle grub vs Scarlet Macaw

Hypoderma lineatum compared with Ara macao

Key Differences

• Common cattle grub is Extinct while Scarlet Macaw is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common cattle grub	Scarlet Macaw
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Psittaciformes (Parrots)
Family	Oestridae	Psittacidae (True Parrots)
Genus	Hypoderma	Ara (Macaws)
Species	Hypoderma lineatum	Ara macao

Evolutionary Relationship

Common cattle grub and Scarlet Macaw share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Common cattle grub

EX — Extinct

Scarlet Macaw

LC — Least Concern

Population: ~50.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common cattle grub	Scarlet Macaw
Diet	—	Herbivore
Average Lifespan	—	50 years
Average Length	—	85 cm
Average Weight	—	1.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common cattle grub

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Japan, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

Scarlet Macaw

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, forests, and vegetated habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela). Population trends indicate a declining trajectory in parts of its range.

Common cattle grub

<em>Hypoderma lineatum</em>, commonly known as the common cattle grub, is a parasitic fly species with documented occurrences in Japan, Norway, Sweden, and the United States. It typically inhabited terrestrial and freshwater environments, often associated with cattle and other large ungulates on which its larvae develop as subcutaneous parasites. The species is classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List, indicating that it is no longer known to exist in the wild. Common cattle grub belongs to the genus <em>Hypoderma</em> within the family Oestridae. Adult flies do not feed and are short-lived, while larvae burrow under the skin of host animals, causing a condition known as hypodermosis or warble fly infestation. The decline and extinction of this species has been linked to widespread and highly effective veterinary treatment programs targeting warble fly larvae in cattle, which drastically reduced host populations and ultimately eliminated the species. Biological traits such as average lifespan, body length, and mass of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.

Scarlet Macaw

One of the most brilliantly colored birds in the Americas, scarlet macaws display vivid red, yellow, and blue plumage with wingspans reaching 1 meter. Found in humid lowland forests from Mexico to Bolivia, they are highly intelligent, long-lived — up to 75 years — and form lifelong pair bonds. They travel long distances to clay licks where they consume mineral-rich soil to detoxify seeds. Listed as Least Concern but locally threatened by habitat loss and the pet trade.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway