Long-tailed Sylph vs Mottled dung beetle

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Onthophagus nuchicornis

Key Differences

Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Mottled dung beetle is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Mottled dung beetle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Coleoptera (Beetles)
Family	Trochilidae	Scarabaeidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Onthophagus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Onthophagus nuchicornis

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Mottled dung beetle share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

View Kingdom: Animalia

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Mottled dung beetle

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Mottled dung beetle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Long-tailed Sylph

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Ecuador, Norway, and Venezuela.

Mottled dung beetle

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (Canada, United States). Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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.