Brown Rat vs Speckled Tar Spot

Rattus norvegicus compared with Rhytisma punctatum

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Speckled Tar Spot is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Speckled Tar Spot
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Fungi (Fungi)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Ascomycota (Sac Fungi)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Leotiomycetes (Leotiomycetes)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Rhytismatales (Rhytismatales)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Rhytismataceae
Genus	Rattus	Rhytisma
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Rhytisma punctatum

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Speckled Tar Spot

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Speckled Tar Spot
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).

Speckled Tar Spot

Habitat

Native to Europe and North America, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Distributed across Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and United States.

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 4 countries:

🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇺🇸 United States