Lesser Germanderwort vs small tortoiseshell

Riccardia incurvata compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Lesser Germanderwort is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Lesser Germanderwort	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Marchantiophyta (liverwort)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Jungermanniopsida (Jungermanniopsida)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Metzgeriales (Metzgeriales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Aneuraceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Riccardia	Aglais
Species	Riccardia incurvata	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Lesser Germanderwort

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Lesser Germanderwort	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Lesser Germanderwort

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, and Sweden.

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