Long-tailed Sylph vs Shark

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Carcharhinus porosus

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while Shark is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph	Shark
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fish)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Carcharhiniformes (Ground Sharks)
Family	Trochilidae	Carcharhinidae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Carcharhinus
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Carcharhinus porosus

Evolutionary Relationship

Long-tailed Sylph and Shark share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

Shark

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph	Shark
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.

Shark

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found in Venezuela. Currently classified as Critically 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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇻🇪 Venezuela