Brown Rat vs Ferny Azolla

Rattus norvegicus compared with Azolla pinnata

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Ferny Azolla
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Tracheophyta
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Salviniales (Salviniales)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Salviniaceae
Genus	Rattus	Azolla
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Azolla pinnata

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Ferny Azolla

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Ferny Azolla
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).

Ferny Azolla

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including deserts and xeric shrublands, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, and flooded grasslands and savannas spanning the Palearctic and Oceanian realms.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (4 countries), Asia (Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan), North America (Mexico, United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Tuvalu).

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 9 countries:

🇪🇬 Egypt 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇸🇬 Singapore 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇹🇻 Tuvalu 🇺🇸 United States