Long-tailed Sylph vs

Aglaiocercus kingii compared with Sphingopyxis granuli

Key Differences

• Long-tailed Sylph is Least Concern while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Long-tailed Sylph
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Bacteria (Bacteria)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Proteobacteria (Proteobacteria)
Class	Aves (Birds)	Alphaproteobacteria (Alphaproteobacteria)
Order	Apodiformes (Apodiformes)	Sphingomonadales (Sphingomonadales)
Family	Trochilidae	Sphingomonadaceae
Genus	Aglaiocercus	Sphingopyxis
Species	Aglaiocercus kingii	Sphingopyxis granuli

Conservation Status

Long-tailed Sylph

LC — Least Concern

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Long-tailed Sylph
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.

Habitat

Native to Asia, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in Taiwan.

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.

Sphingopyxis granuli is a Gram-negative alphaproteobacterium in the family Sphingomonadaceae, characterized by its yellow-pigmented colonies and the presence of sphingolipids in its membrane—a trait shared across the family. It was isolated from granule-associated material and is aerobic, rod-shaped, and motile. Sphingopyxis species are common in soils, freshwater, and plant-associated environments.