Brown Rat vs Grey Tooth

Rattus norvegicus compared with Phellodon melaleucus

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Grey Tooth is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Grey Tooth
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Thelephorales (Thelephorales)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Thelephoraceae
Genus	Rattus	Phellodon
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Phellodon melaleucus

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Grey Tooth

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Grey Tooth
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).

Grey Tooth

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Norway, and United States. Currently classified as Endangered 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 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway 🇺🇸 United States