loutre, loutre deurope vs petite tortue

Lutra lutra compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• loutre, loutre deurope is Vulnerable while petite tortue is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	loutre, loutre deurope	petite tortue
Kingdom same	Animalia (animal)	Animalia (animal)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (arthropodes)
Class	Mammalia (mammifères)	Insecta (insecte)
Order	Carnivora (carnivores)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Mustelidae (Weasels & Otters)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Lutra (Otters)	Aglais
Species	Lutra lutra	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

loutre, loutre deurope and petite tortue share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (animal)

Conservation Status

loutre, loutre deurope

VU — Vulnerable

Trend: Stable →

petite tortue

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	loutre, loutre deurope	petite tortue
Diet	Carnivore	—
Average Lifespan	10 years	—
Average Length	1.0 m	—
Average Weight	10.0 kg	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

loutre, loutre deurope

Habitat

Typically found in diverse ecosystems where prey species are available.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

petite tortue

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.

loutre, loutre deurope

Sleek semi-aquatic mustelid found along clean rivers, streams, and coastlines across Europe and Asia. European otters can reach 1.3 meters in length and are highly skilled fish hunters, using sensitive whiskers to detect prey movements. Requiring unpolluted water with abundant fish, they are an indicator species for freshwater ecosystem health. Once nearly extinct in Western Europe from hunting and pollution, populations have recovered significantly following water quality improvements.

petite tortue

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 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇦 Ukraine