small tortoiseshell vs Spectacled Eider

Aglais urticae compared with Somateria fischeri

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Spectacled Eider is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Spectacled Eider
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Anseriformes (Anseriformes)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Anatidae
Genus	Aglais	Somateria
Species	Aglais urticae	Somateria fischeri

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Spectacled Eider share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Spectacled Eider

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Spectacled Eider
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.

Spectacled Eider

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Norway and Sweden.

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 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden