Gritty Pixie-Cup Lichen vs small tortoiseshell

Cladonia merochlorophaea compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Gritty Pixie-Cup Lichen is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Gritty Pixie-Cup Lichen	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Lecanoromycetes (Lecanoromycetes)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Lecanorales (Lecanorales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Cladoniaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Cladonia	Aglais
Species	Cladonia merochlorophaea	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Gritty Pixie-Cup Lichen

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Gritty Pixie-Cup Lichen	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Gritty Pixie-Cup Lichen

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil, 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:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden