glacier buttercup vs small tortoiseshell

Ranunculus glacialis compared with Aglais urticae

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	glacier buttercup	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Ranunculales (Ranunculales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Ranunculaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Ranunculus	Aglais
Species	Ranunculus glacialis	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

glacier buttercup

NT — Near Threatened

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	glacier buttercup	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

glacier buttercup

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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 4 countries:

🇫🇮 Finland 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden