Brown Rat vs Cowbane Rust

Rattus norvegicus compared with Puccinia cicutae

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Cowbane Rust is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Cowbane Rust
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Pucciniomycetes (Pucciniomycetes)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Pucciniales (Pucciniales)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Pucciniaceae
Genus	Rattus	Puccinia
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Puccinia cicutae

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Cowbane Rust

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Cowbane Rust
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).

Cowbane Rust

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.