Blind Pricklypear vs Polynesian rat

Opuntia rufida compared with Rattus exulans

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Blind Pricklypear	Polynesian rat
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Cactaceae	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus	Opuntia	Rattus
Species	Opuntia rufida	Rattus exulans

Conservation Status

Blind Pricklypear

LC — Least Concern

Polynesian rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Blind Pricklypear	Polynesian rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Blind Pricklypear

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, flooded grasslands and savannas, and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Found in Namibia.

Polynesian rat

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 4 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (6 countries), Europe (United Kingdom), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (11 countries), and South America (Chile).

Blind Pricklypear

The Blind Pricklypear (Opuntia rufida) is a species in the genus Opuntia. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, flooded grasslands and savannas, and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.