Coastal Flat-body vs Eurasian water shrew

Agonopterix yeatiana compared with Neomys fodiens

Key Differences

• Coastal Flat-body is Near Threatened while Eurasian water shrew is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Coastal Flat-body	Eurasian water shrew
Kingdom same	Animalia (动物界)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum	Arthropoda (节肢动物门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class	Insecta (昆蟲綱)	Mammalia (哺乳動物)
Order	Lepidoptera (鱗翅目)	Soricomorpha (鼩形目)
Family	Depressariidae	Soricidae
Genus	Agonopterix	Neomys
Species	Agonopterix yeatiana	Neomys fodiens

Evolutionary Relationship

Coastal Flat-body and Eurasian water shrew share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (动物界)

Conservation Status

Coastal Flat-body

NT — Near Threatened

Eurasian water shrew

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Coastal Flat-body	Eurasian water shrew
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coastal Flat-body

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Eurasian water shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Coastal Flat-body

Agonopterix yeatiana, the coastal flat-body, is a small moth in the family Depressariidae native to coastal and calcareous grassland habitats across western and northern Europe, with records from Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden. Moths in the family Depressariidae, commonly called flat-body moths due to the depressed posture they adopt when resting with wings held flat against the surface, are associated predominantly with umbellifer plants of the family Apiaceae as larval hosts. Agonopterix yeatiana larvae feed on wild carrot (Daucus carota), wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa), and related coastal and grassland Apiaceae species, inhabiting the open, often calcareous or sandy habitats where these plants grow. Adult moths have greyish-brown forewing with a distinctive pattern of spots and dashes and reach approximately 8–12 millimeters in wingspan. The species is classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, reflecting declines associated with the loss of traditional hay meadow management, coastal grassland degradation, and scrub encroachment that eliminates the open, flower-rich grassland habitats supporting its host plants. Agricultural intensification has reduced wild umbellifer populations significantly across lowland Europe, reducing food resources for larvae of specialist moths like A. yeatiana.

Eurasian water shrew

欧洲水鼩鼱（Neomys fodiens）在IUCN红色名录中被列为濒危（EN）物种。在野外面临高度灭绝风险，种群数量显著下降，生存面临持续威胁。

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden