Brown Rat vs Ring-tailed cat, Cacomistle

Rattus norvegicus compared with Bassariscus astutus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Ring-tailed cat, Cacomistle
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Carnivora (Carnivorans)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Procyonidae (Raccoons)
Genus	Rattus	Bassariscus
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Bassariscus astutus

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and Ring-tailed cat, Cacomistle share a common ancestor at the Class level: Mammalia. (Mammals)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Ring-tailed cat, Cacomistle

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Ring-tailed cat, Cacomistle
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).

Ring-tailed cat, Cacomistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

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.