Brown Rat vs Natal plum

Rattus norvegicus compared with Carissa macrocarpa

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Natal plum
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Gentianales (Gentianales)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Apocynaceae
Genus	Rattus	Carissa
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Carissa macrocarpa

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Natal plum

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Natal plum
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).

Natal plum

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (South Africa), Asia (India, Taiwan), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), and South America (Brazil, Colombia).

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 6 countries:

🇦🇺 Australia 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇺🇸 United States