Brown Rat vs small tortoiseshell

Rattus norvegicus compared with Aglais urticae

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while small tortoiseshell is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	small tortoiseshell
Kingdom same	Animalia (حيوانات)	Animalia (حيوانات)
Phylum	Chordata (حبليات)	Arthropoda (مفصليات الأرجل)
Class	Mammalia (ثدييات)	Insecta (حشرات)
Order	Rodentia (قوارض)	Lepidoptera (حرشفيات الأجنحة)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Genus	Rattus	Aglais
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Aglais urticae

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and small tortoiseshell share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (حيوانات)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

small tortoiseshell

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	small tortoiseshell
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Brown Rat

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 10 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (11 countries), Asia (15 countries), Europe (41 countries), North America (16 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (10 countries), and South America (10 countries).

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.

Brown Rat

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

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 39 countries:

🇦🇱 Albania 🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇾 Belarus 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇩🇪 Germany 🇬🇷 Greece 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 🇱🇹 Lithuania 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇲🇹 Malta 🇲🇩 Moldova 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇲🇰 North Macedonia 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇷🇴 Romania 🇷🇺 Russia 🇷🇸 Serbia 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇸🇮 Slovenia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇨🇭 Switzerland 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇬🇧 United Kingdom