Brown Rat vs Cottonwool Gall

Rattus norvegicus compared with Andricus quercusramuli

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Cottonwool Gall is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Cottonwool Gall
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees & Wasps)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Cynipidae
Genus	Rattus	Andricus
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Andricus quercusramuli

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Cottonwool Gall

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Cottonwool Gall
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).

Cottonwool Gall

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, 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 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden