flat-leaved scalewort vs small tortoiseshell

Radula complanata compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• flat-leaved scalewort is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	flat-leaved scalewort	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Marchantiophyta (liverwort)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Jungermanniopsida (Jungermanniopsida)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Porellales (Porellales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Radulaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Radula	Aglais
Species	Radula complanata	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

flat-leaved scalewort

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	flat-leaved scalewort	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

flat-leaved scalewort

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found across Europe (6 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.

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 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden