Asian swordfern vs small tortoiseshell

Nephrolepis brownii compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Asian swordfern is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Asian swordfern	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Nephrolepidaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Nephrolepis	Aglais
Species	Nephrolepis brownii	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Asian swordfern

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Asian swordfern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Singapore, Taiwan), North America (4 countries), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

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.

Asian swordfern

The Asian swordfern (Nephrolepis brownii) is a species in the genus Nephrolepis. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies. Widely distributed across Asia (Singapore, Taiwan), North America (4 countries), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

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.