Graceful sandmat vs small tortoiseshell

Euphorbia hypericifolia compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Graceful sandmat is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Graceful sandmat	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Euphorbiaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Euphorbia	Aglais
Species	Euphorbia hypericifolia	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Graceful sandmat

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Graceful sandmat	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Graceful sandmat

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and montane grasslands and shrublands. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (11 countries), Asia (8 countries), Europe (4 countries), North America (6 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (11 countries), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia).

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:

🇫🇷 France 🇬🇷 Greece 🇮🇹 Italy 🇲🇹 Malta