Brown Rat vs European hare

Rattus norvegicus compared with Lepus europaeus

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while European hare is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	European hare
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Lagomorpha (Rabbits & Hares)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Leporidae (Rabbits & Hares)
Genus	Rattus	Lepus
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Lepus europaeus

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and European hare share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (Mammals)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

European hare

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	European hare
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).

European hare

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 7 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (10 countries), North America (4 countries), and South America (8 countries). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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.

European hare

European hare (Lepus europaeus) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 21 countries:

🇦🇷 Argentina 🇧🇧 Barbados 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇴 Bolivia 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇱 Chile 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic 🇫🇷 France 🇬🇷 Greece 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇮🇹 Italy 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇪 Peru 🇷🇺 Russia 🇪🇸 Spain 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States 🇺🇾 Uruguay 🇻🇪 Venezuela