Bath Truffle vs small tortoiseshell

Melanogaster broomeanus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Bath Truffle is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Bath Truffle	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Boletales (Boletales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Paxillaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Melanogaster	Aglais
Species	Melanogaster broomeanus	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Bath Truffle

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Bath Truffle

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, and Norway.

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.

Bath Truffle

The Bath Truffle (Melanogaster broomeanus) is a species in the genus Melanogaster. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway