Asian house shrew vs black rat

Suncus murinus compared with Rattus rattus

Key Differences

• Asian house shrew is Least Concern while black rat is Extinct.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Asian house shrew	black rat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Soricomorpha (Soricomorpha)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Soricidae	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus	Suncus	Rattus
Species	Suncus murinus	Rattus rattus

Evolutionary Relationship

Asian house shrew and black rat share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (Mammals)

Conservation Status

Asian house shrew

LC — Least Concern

black rat

EX — Extinct

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Asian house shrew	black rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Asian house shrew

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (4 countries), Asia (8 countries), Europe (Russia), and Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands).

black rat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (16 countries), Asia (13 countries), Europe (41 countries), North America (16 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (10 countries).

Asian house shrew

The Asian house shrew (Suncus murinus) is a species in the genus Suncus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types. Populations are also found. Widely distributed across Africa (4 countries), Asia (8 countries), Europe (Russia), and Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands).

black rat

The Black rat (Rattus rattus) is a species in the genus Rattus. It is currently classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 9 countries:

🇰🇲 Comoros 🇪🇬 Egypt 🇯🇵 Japan 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands 🇲🇺 Mauritius 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇾🇪 Yemen