Brown Rat vs Madeiran Large White

Rattus norvegicus compared with Pieris wollastoni

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Madeiran Large White is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Madeiran Large White
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Pieridae
Genus	Rattus	Pieris
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Pieris wollastoni

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and Madeiran Large White share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Madeiran Large White

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Madeiran Large White
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).

Madeiran Large White

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found in Portugal. 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 1 countries:

🇵🇹 Portugal