Brown Rat vs Pacific Spiny-rat

Rattus norvegicus compared with Proechimys decumanus

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Pacific Spiny-rat is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Pacific Spiny-rat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order same	Rodentia (Rodents)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Echimyidae
Genus	Rattus	Proechimys
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Proechimys decumanus

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and Pacific Spiny-rat share a common ancestor at the Order level: Rodentia. (Rodents)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Pacific Spiny-rat

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Pacific Spiny-rat
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).

Pacific Spiny-rat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found in Ecuador. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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:

🇪🇨 Ecuador