Brittle Bladderfern vs European otter

Cystopteris tenuis compared with Lutra lutra

Key Differences

Brittle Bladderfern is Not Evaluated while European otter is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brittle Bladderfern	European otter
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Carnivora (Carnivorans)
Family	Cystopteridaceae	Mustelidae (Weasels & Otters)
Genus	Cystopteris	Lutra (Otters)
Species	Cystopteris tenuis	Lutra lutra

Conservation Status

Brittle Bladderfern

NE — Not Evaluated

European otter

VU — Vulnerable

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brittle Bladderfern	European otter
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	10 years
Average Length	—	1.0 m
Average Weight	—	10.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brittle Bladderfern

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Canada and United States.

European otter

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Brittle Bladderfern

The Brittle Bladderfern (Cystopteris tenuis) is a species in the genus Cystopteris. Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Sleek semi-aquatic mustelid found along clean rivers, streams, and coastlines across Europe and Asia. European otters can reach 1.3 meters in length and are highly skilled fish hunters, using sensitive whiskers to detect prey movements. Requiring unpolluted water with abundant fish, they are an indicator species for freshwater ecosystem health. Once nearly extinct in Western Europe from hunting and pollution, populations have recovered significantly following water quality improvements.