Brown Rat vs Fall Armyworm

Rattus norvegicus compared with Spodoptera frugiperda

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Fall Armyworm is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Fall Armyworm
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Noctuidae
Genus	Rattus	Spodoptera
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Spodoptera frugiperda

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Fall Armyworm

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Fall Armyworm
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).

Fall Armyworm

Habitat

Inhabits flooded grasslands and savannas within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (9 countries), Asia (Taiwan, Timor-Leste), Europe (Denmark), and North America (Canada, 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 6 countries:

🇨🇦 Canada 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe 🇸🇳 Senegal 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇺🇸 United States