small tortoiseshell vs Whitley’s cuttlefish

Aglais urticae compared with Sepia whitleyana

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Whitley’s cuttlefish is Data Deficient.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Whitley’s cuttlefish
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Mollusca (Mollusks)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Cephalopoda (Cephalopods)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Sepiida (Sepiida)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Sepiidae
Genus	Aglais	Sepia
Species	Aglais urticae	Sepia whitleyana

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Whitley’s cuttlefish share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Whitley’s cuttlefish

DD — Data Deficient

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Whitley’s cuttlefish
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.

Whitley’s cuttlefish

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.