Flat Wrack vs small tortoiseshell

Fucus spiralis compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Flat Wrack is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Flat Wrack	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Chromista (Chromista)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ochrophyta (Ochrophyta)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Phaeophyceae (Phaeophyceae)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Fucales (Fucales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Fucaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Fucus	Aglais
Species	Fucus spiralis	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Flat Wrack

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Flat Wrack	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Flat Wrack

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate coniferous forests, montane grasslands and shrublands, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Found across Africa (Morocco) and Europe (9 countries).

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 9 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom