Brown Rat vs Spotted Thistle

Rattus norvegicus compared with Scolymus maculatus

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Spotted Thistle is Not Evaluated.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Spotted Thistle
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Asterales (Daisies & Sunflowers)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Asteraceae (Daisy Family)
Genus	Rattus	Scolymus
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Scolymus maculatus

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Spotted Thistle

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Spotted Thistle
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).

Spotted Thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Libya), Europe (6 countries), North America (United States), and Oceania and the Pacific (Australia).

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 8 countries:

🇦🇺 Australia 🇧🇪 Belgium 🇫🇷 France 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden 🇬🇧 United Kingdom 🇺🇸 United States