American Tar Spot vs Brown Rat

Rhytisma americanum compared with Rattus norvegicus

Key Differences

• American Tar Spot is Not Evaluated while Brown Rat is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	American Tar Spot	Brown Rat
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Leotiomycetes (Leotiomycetes)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Rhytismatales (Rhytismatales)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Rhytismataceae	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus	Rhytisma	Rattus
Species	Rhytisma americanum	Rattus norvegicus

Conservation Status

American Tar Spot

NE — Not Evaluated

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	American Tar Spot	Brown Rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

American Tar Spot

Habitat

Native to North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found in United States.

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).

American Tar Spot

The American Tar Spot (Rhytisma americanum) is a species in the genus Rhytisma. Native to North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

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.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 1 countries:

🇺🇸 United States