Brown Rat vs

Rattus norvegicus compared with Coprinopsis stercorea

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Agaricales (Gilled Mushrooms)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Psathyrellaceae
Genus	Rattus	Coprinopsis
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Coprinopsis stercorea

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat
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).

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

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.

Coprinopsis stercorea is a small, inky cap mushroom growing on herbivore dung and manure-enriched soils, as its species name implies. It inhabits pastures, stables, and woodland areas with dung deposits across temperate regions of Europe and North America. This coprophilous saprotrophic fungus decomposes dung organic matter and autodigests its cap as spores mature.