Brown Rat vs Fodder Vetch

Rattus norvegicus compared with Vicia villosa

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Fodder Vetch is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Fodder Vetch
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Fabaceae
Genus	Rattus	Vicia
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Vicia villosa

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Fodder Vetch

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Fodder Vetch
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).

Fodder Vetch

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, and Mediterranean forests and woodlands, among 9 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (9 countries), Europe (16 countries), North America (Canada, Mexico, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (4 countries). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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 26 countries:

🇦🇷 Argentina 🇦🇺 Australia 🇧🇾 Belarus 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇩🇪 Germany 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇯🇵 Japan 🇲🇽 Mexico 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇱 Poland 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇦 Ukraine 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States