small tortoiseshell vs Zeledon’s Mouse Opossum

Aglais urticae compared with Marmosa zeledoni

Key Differences

• small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened while Zeledon’s Mouse Opossum is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	small tortoiseshell	Zeledon’s Mouse Opossum
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Didelphimorphia (Didelphimorphia)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Didelphidae
Genus	Aglais	Marmosa
Species	Aglais urticae	Marmosa zeledoni

Evolutionary Relationship

small tortoiseshell and Zeledon’s Mouse Opossum share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Zeledon’s Mouse Opossum

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	small tortoiseshell	Zeledon’s Mouse Opossum
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.

Zeledon’s Mouse Opossum

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Ecuador.

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.