Common Periwinkle vs small tortoiseshell

Littorina littorea compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Common Periwinkle is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common 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 littorea	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Common Periwinkle

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Periwinkle	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Periwinkle

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Range

Found across Europe (4 countries) and North America (Canada, 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.

Common Periwinkle

Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea) 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.

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 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden