Danube river snail vs small tortoiseshell

Viviparus acerosus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Danube river snail is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Danube river snail	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Mollusca (Mollusks)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Architaenioglossa (Architaenioglossa)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Viviparidae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Viviparus	Aglais
Species	Viviparus acerosus	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Danube river snail

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Danube river snail	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Danube river snail

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, and United Kingdom.

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.

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 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇬🇧 United Kingdom