Root-headed Centaury vs small tortoiseshell

Centaurea rhizocalathium compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

Root-headed Centaury is Endangered while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Root-headed Centaury	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Centaurea	Aglais
Species	Centaurea rhizocalathium	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Root-headed Centaury

EN — Endangered

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Root-headed Centaury	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Root-headed Centaury

Habitat

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

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 (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.