Dwarf Water Clover vs small tortoiseshell

Marsilea minuta compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Dwarf Water Clover is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Dwarf Water Clover	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Tracheophyta	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Salviniales (Salviniales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Marsileaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Marsilea	Aglais
Species	Marsilea minuta	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Dwarf Water Clover

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Dwarf Water Clover	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Dwarf Water Clover

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and mangrove forests and coastal wetlands, among 4 distinct biome types spanning the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Algeria, Comoros), Asia (Bhutan, Taiwan, Vietnam), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

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.