common shrew vs small tortoiseshell

Sorex araneus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• common shrew is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	common shrew	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Soricidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Sorex	Aglais
Species	Sorex araneus	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

common shrew

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	common shrew	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

common shrew

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found across 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.

common shrew

<em>Sorex araneus</em>, the common shrew, is a small insectivorous mammal in the family Soricidae, order Eulipotyphla, widely distributed across Europe and portions of the United States and Russia. This species inhabits a broad range of terrestrial environments including woodland, grassland, scrubland, hedgerows, and suburban gardens, typically favoring areas with dense ground cover providing both shelter and hunting opportunities. <em>Sorex araneus</em> is among the smallest mammals, with an exceptionally high metabolic rate that necessitates nearly continuous feeding to survive — it must consume close to its own body weight in food each day. Its diet consists primarily of invertebrates including earthworms, beetles, spiders, and other small arthropods found in leaf litter and soil. The species is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, with large and stable populations across its range. Biological traits for this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature in terms of precise standardized averages for lifespan, body length, and weight across populations, though it is known to be a short-lived species with typical wild lifespans of around one year, and is widely studied as a model organism in ecological and physiological research.

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:

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