vs small tortoiseshell

Colacium sideropus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank		small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Protozoa (أوالي)	Animalia (حيوانات)
Phylum	Euglenozoa (حنادر)	Arthropoda (مفصليات الأرجل)
Class	Euglenoidea (طحالب حنديرية)	Insecta (حشرات)
Order	Euglenida (Euglenida)	Lepidoptera (حرشفيات الأجنحة)
Family	Euglenaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Colacium	Aglais
Species	Colacium sideropus	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute		small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Habitat

Native to Europe and South America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Brazil and Sweden.

small tortoiseshell

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (41 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Colacium sideropus is a microscopic euglenoid protist belonging to the family Euglenaceae, characterized by its sessile, colonial lifestyle attaching to aquatic invertebrates and zooplankton. Members of the genus Colacium are distinguished from free-swimming euglenoids by their stalked or clustered growth form, anchoring to the bodies of crustaceans such as copepods and cladocerans in freshwater environments. Like other photosynthetic euglenoids, Colacium possesses chloroplasts derived from secondary endosymbiosis with a green alga, allowing it to perform photosynthesis under favorable light conditions. The relationship with host invertebrates is generally considered epibiotic rather than parasitic, with the protist colonizing the external surfaces of its host without causing significant harm. Colacium sideropus occurs in freshwater lakes, ponds, and slow-moving streams where its zooplankton hosts are abundant. Its ecological role includes contributing to microbial food webs and nutrient cycling within freshwater ecosystems. As with many microscopic protists, its true distribution and abundance are difficult to assess from macroscopic surveys, and it is likely globally distributed wherever suitable hosts exist in freshwater habitats.

small tortoiseshell

small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.