common horse fly vs Fenton's Mastiff Bat

Haematopota pluvialis compared with Molossus fentoni

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	common horse fly	Fenton's Mastiff Bat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Tabanidae	Molossidae
Genus	Haematopota	Molossus
Species	Haematopota pluvialis	Molossus fentoni

Evolutionary Relationship

common horse fly and Fenton's Mastiff Bat share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

common horse fly

LC — Least Concern

Fenton's Mastiff Bat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	common horse fly	Fenton's Mastiff Bat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

common horse fly

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

Fenton's Mastiff Bat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Ecuador.

common horse fly

<em>Haematopota pluvialis</em>, commonly known as the common horse fly, is a blood-feeding dipteran insect in the family Tabanidae. It is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The species is recorded from Belgium, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, with a distribution centered in northwestern Europe, where it typically inhabits moist, vegetated areas near water bodies, woodland margins, and pastures. Female horse flies are well known as ectoparasites of large mammals, while males are primarily nectar feeders. Diet information beyond this general feeding ecology is not available in current species records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.