Brown Rat vs Dusky Cockroach

Rattus norvegicus compared with Ectobius lapponicus

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Dusky Cockroach is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Dusky Cockroach
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Blattodea (Blattodea)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Ectobiidae
Genus	Rattus	Ectobius
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Ectobius lapponicus

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Dusky Cockroach

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Dusky Cockroach
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).

Dusky Cockroach

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States