Brown Rat vs Brown Widow

Rattus norvegicus compared with Latrodectus geometricus

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Brown Widow is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Brown Widow
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Arachnida (Arachnids)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Araneae (Araneae)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Theridiidae
Genus	Rattus	Latrodectus
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Latrodectus geometricus

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Brown Widow

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Brown Widow
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

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).

Brown Widow

Habitat

Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Japan), Europe (7 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru).

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.

Brown Widow

The Brown Widow (Latrodectus geometricus) is a species in the genus Latrodectus. Typically found in terrestrial habitats from forests to deserts. Its geographic range includes widely distributed across africa (south africa), asia (japan), europe (7 countries), north america (united states), and south america (colombia, ecuador, peru).

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 13 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇫🇷 France 🇯🇵 Japan 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇪 Peru 🇵🇱 Poland 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States