common horse fly vs Gray-footed Spiny-rat

Haematopota pluvialis compared with Proechimys poliopus

Key Differences

• common horse fly is Least Concern while Gray-footed Spiny-rat is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	common horse fly	Gray-footed Spiny-rat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Diptera (Diptera)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Tabanidae	Echimyidae
Genus	Haematopota	Proechimys
Species	Haematopota pluvialis	Proechimys poliopus

Evolutionary Relationship

common horse fly and Gray-footed Spiny-rat share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

common horse fly

LC — Least Concern

Gray-footed Spiny-rat

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	common horse fly	Gray-footed Spiny-rat
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.

Gray-footed Spiny-rat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Venezuela. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.