small tortoiseshell vs Sowerby's keeled slug

Aglais urticae compared with Tandonia sowerbyi

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Sowerby's keeled slug is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Sowerby's keeled slug
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Mollusca (Mollusks)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Stylommatophora (Stylommatophora)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Milacidae
Genus	Aglais	Tandonia
Species	Aglais urticae	Tandonia sowerbyi

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Sowerby's keeled slug share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Sowerby's keeled slug

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Sowerby's keeled slug
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

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.

Sowerby's keeled slug

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial and aquatic habitats including forests and freshwater.

Range

Found across Europe (10 countries) and Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand).

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 10 countries:

🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇬🇷 Greece 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇪🇸 Spain 🇬🇧 United Kingdom