Curled Thistle vs Lesser Noctule

Carduus crispus compared with Nyctalus leisleri

Key Differences

• Curled Thistle is Least Concern while Lesser Noctule is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Curled Thistle	Lesser Noctule
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Chiroptera (Bats)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Vespertilionidae
Genus	Carduus	Nyctalus
Species	Carduus crispus	Nyctalus leisleri

Conservation Status

Curled Thistle

LC — Least Concern

Lesser Noctule

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Curled Thistle	Lesser Noctule
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Curled Thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Japan, North Korea), Europe (7 countries), and North America (Canada, United States).

Lesser Noctule

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

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

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇪 Sweden