Common Blue vs Eurasian water shrew

Polyommatus icarus compared with Neomys fodiens

Key Differences

• Common Blue is Least Concern while Eurasian water shrew is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Blue	Eurasian water shrew
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)
Family	Lycaenidae	Soricidae
Genus	Polyommatus	Neomys
Species	Polyommatus icarus	Neomys fodiens

Evolutionary Relationship

Common Blue and Eurasian water shrew share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Common Blue

LC — Least Concern

Eurasian water shrew

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Blue	Eurasian water shrew
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Blue

Habitat

Inhabits Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Cyprus), Europe (40 countries), and North America (United States).

Eurasian water shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Blue

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Eurasian water shrew

Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens) is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. At high risk of extinction in the wild, with significant population decline and ongoing threats to survival.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇪 Sweden