Brown Rat vs painted ray

Rattus norvegicus compared with Raja microocellata

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while painted ray is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	painted ray
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Elasmobranchii
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Rajiformes (Rajiformes)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Rajidae
Genus	Rattus	Raja
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Raja microocellata

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and painted ray share a common ancestor at the Phylum level: Chordata. (Chordates)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

painted ray

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	painted ray
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).

painted ray

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Belgium and Denmark. 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 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark