Brown Rat vs Osier

Rattus norvegicus compared with Salix viminalis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Osier
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Salicaceae
Genus	Rattus	Salix
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Salix viminalis

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Osier

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Osier
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).

Osier

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Turkey), Europe (13 countries), North America (Canada, United States), Oceania and the Pacific (Australia), 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 20 countries:

🇦🇷 Argentina 🇦🇺 Australia 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇧🇷 Brazil 🇧🇬 Bulgaria 🇨🇦 Canada 🇨🇱 Chile 🇨🇴 Colombia 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇫🇮 Finland 🇫🇷 France 🇮🇸 Iceland 🇮🇪 Ireland 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States