Leopard Earthball vs small tortoiseshell

Scleroderma areolatum compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Leopard Earthball is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Leopard Earthball	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Boletales (Boletales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Sclerodermataceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Scleroderma	Aglais
Species	Scleroderma areolatum	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Leopard Earthball

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Leopard Earthball	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Leopard Earthball

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

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 5 countries:

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