Brown Rat vs Gray Field Slug

Rattus norvegicus compared with Deroceras reticulatum

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Gray Field Slug
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Mollusca (Mollusks)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Gastropoda (Gastropoda)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Stylommatophora (Stylommatophora)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Agriolimacidae
Genus	Rattus	Deroceras
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Deroceras reticulatum

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and Gray Field Slug share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Gray Field Slug

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Gray Field Slug
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).

Gray Field Slug

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and deserts and xeric shrublands within the Indomalayan biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (Israel, Sri Lanka, Taiwan), Europe (11 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (4 countries).

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 21 countries:

🇦🇷 Argentina 🇦🇹 Austria 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇱 Israel 🇮🇹 Italy 🇱🇻 Latvia 🇳🇿 New Zealand 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇪🇸 Spain 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇺🇸 United States