Lance-Leaf Moonwort vs Long-tailed Sylph

Botrychium lanceolatum compared with Aglaiocercus kingii

Key Differences

• Lance-Leaf Moonwort is Vulnerable while Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Lance-Leaf Moonwort	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Ophioglossales (Ophioglossales)	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)
Family	Ophioglossaceae	Trochilidae
Genus	Botrychium	Aglaiocercus
Species	Botrychium lanceolatum	Aglaiocercus kingii

Conservation Status

Lance-Leaf Moonwort

VU — Vulnerable

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Lance-Leaf Moonwort	Long-tailed Sylph
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Lance-Leaf Moonwort

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Distributed across Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and United States. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Long-tailed Sylph

One of the most strikingly ornamented hummingbirds, male long-tailed sylphs have iridescent green plumage and dramatically elongated, ribbon-like outer tail feathers reaching up to 22 cm — over three times the body length. Found in Andean cloud forests of Colombia and Venezuela, they inhabit humid montane forest between 1,400–2,800 meters elevation. Males perform elaborate display flights to attract females. Their extravagant tails are a classic example of sexual selection via female preference.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway