Black-Lined Periwinkle vs small tortoiseshell

Littorina saxatilis compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Black-Lined Periwinkle is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black-Lined Periwinkle	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Littorinimorpha (Littorinimorpha)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Littorinidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Littorina	Aglais
Species	Littorina saxatilis	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Black-Lined Periwinkle and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Black-Lined Periwinkle

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black-Lined Periwinkle	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black-Lined Periwinkle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, flooded grasslands and savannas, and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Namibia, South Africa), Europe (5 countries), and North America (United States).

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.

Black-Lined Periwinkle

The Black-Lined Periwinkle (Littorina saxatilis) is a species in the genus Littorina. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, flooded grasslands and savannas, and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

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 5 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇮🇹 Italy 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden