Slender Water Moss vs small tortoiseshell

Fontinalis dalecarlica compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Slender Water Moss is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Slender Water Moss	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Bryophyta	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Bryopsida (Bryopsida)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Hypnales (Hypnales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Fontinalaceae	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Fontinalis	Aglais
Species	Fontinalis dalecarlica	Aglais urticae

Conservation Status

Slender Water Moss

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Slender Water Moss	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Slender Water Moss

Habitat

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

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

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 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden