Black Sexton Beetle vs Brown Rat

Nicrophorus humator compared with Rattus norvegicus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Black Sexton Beetle	Brown Rat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Coleoptera (Beetles)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Staphylinidae	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus	Nicrophorus	Rattus
Species	Nicrophorus humator	Rattus norvegicus

Evolutionary Relationship

Black Sexton Beetle and Brown Rat share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Black Sexton Beetle

LC — Least Concern

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Black Sexton Beetle	Brown Rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Black Sexton Beetle

Habitat

Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Found across Asia (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) and Europe (4 countries).

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).

Black Sexton Beetle

The Black Sexton Beetle (Nicrophorus humator) is a species in the genus Nicrophorus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Inhabits deserts and xeric shrublands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇯 Tajikistan