Blackthorn Dotty vs Brown Rat

Polystigma rubrum compared with Rattus norvegicus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blackthorn Dotty	Brown Rat
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Sordariomycetes (Sordariomycetes)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Phyllachorales (Phyllachorales)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Phyllachoraceae	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus	Polystigma	Rattus
Species	Polystigma rubrum	Rattus norvegicus

Conservation Status

Blackthorn Dotty

LC — Least Concern

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blackthorn Dotty	Brown Rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blackthorn Dotty

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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).

Blackthorn Dotty

The Blackthorn Dotty (Polystigma rubrum) is a species in the genus Polystigma. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Distributed across Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.

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 3 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden