Brown Rat vs Castor

Rattus norvegicus compared with Ricinus communis

Key Differences

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

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Castor
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Euphorbiaceae
Genus	Rattus	Ricinus
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Ricinus communis

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Castor

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Castor
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).

Castor

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (33 countries), Asia (26 countries), Europe (23 countries), North America (15 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (12 countries).

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.

Castor

The Castor (Ricinus communis) is a species in the genus Ricinus. Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, flooded grasslands and savannas, and montane grasslands and shrublands, among 7 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and hi

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 70 countries:

🇦🇱 Albania 🇦🇴 Angola 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda 🇦🇷 Argentina 🇦🇺 Australia 🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇸 Bahamas 🇧🇧 Barbados 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇴 Bolivia 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇻 Cabo Verde 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇨🇷 Costa Rica 🇭🇷 Croatia 🇨🇺 Cuba 🇨🇾 Cyprus 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 🇪🇨 Ecuador 🇪🇪 Estonia 🇫🇯 Fiji 🇫🇷 France 🇬🇷 Greece 🇬🇾 Guyana 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇮🇷 Iran 🇮🇶 Iraq 🇮🇱 Israel 🇮🇹 Italy 🇯🇲 Jamaica 🇯🇵 Japan 🇯🇴 Jordan 🇱🇸 Lesotho 🇱🇹 Lithuania 🇲🇹 Malta 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇫🇲 Micronesia 🇳🇦 Namibia 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇼 Palau 🇵🇪 Peru 🇵🇭 Philippines 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇷🇴 Romania 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 🇼🇸 Samoa 🇸🇳 Senegal 🇸🇨 Seychelles 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇪🇸 Spain 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇹🇴 Tonga 🇹🇻 Tuvalu 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States 🇺🇾 Uruguay 🇻🇺 Vanuatu 🇻🇪 Venezuela