Brown Rat vs limestone fern

Rattus norvegicus compared with Gymnocarpium robertianum

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while limestone fern is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	limestone fern
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Tracheophyta
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Polypodiopsida (Polypodiopsida)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Polypodiales (Polypodiales)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Cystopteridaceae
Genus	Rattus	Gymnocarpium
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Gymnocarpium robertianum

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

limestone fern

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	limestone fern
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).

limestone fern

Habitat

Typically found in moist, shaded forest floors and tropical canopies.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Canada, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Critically 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 4 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇨🇦 Canada 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden