Brittle Bladderfern vs small tortoiseshell

Cystopteris tenuis compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

Brittle Bladderfern is Not Evaluated while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brittle Bladderfern	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Cystopteridaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Cystopteris	Aglais
Species	Cystopteris tenuis	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Brittle Bladderfern

NE — Not Evaluated

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

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

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brittle Bladderfern

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Canada and 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.

Brittle Bladderfern

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

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.