Brown Rat vs

Rattus norvegicus compared with Postia lowei

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Polyporales (Polyporales)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Dacryobolaceae
Genus	Rattus	Postia
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Postia lowei

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown 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).

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Norway, Sweden, and Taiwan.

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.

Postia lowei is a soft, white to cream-colored bracket fungus forming annual, shelf-like fruiting bodies on decaying conifer wood. It inhabits boreal and montane coniferous forests, growing on dead fallen logs and stumps. This brown-rot saprotrophic fungus decomposes the cellulose of conifer wood, leaving characteristic brown cubical rot.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇹🇼 Taiwan