Brown Rat vs Thick-nerved Apple-moss

Rattus norvegicus compared with Philonotis calcarea

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while Thick-nerved Apple-moss is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Thick-nerved Apple-moss
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Bryophyta
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Bryopsida (Bryopsida)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Bartramiales (Bartramiales)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Bartramiaceae
Genus	Rattus	Philonotis
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Philonotis calcarea

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Thick-nerved Apple-moss

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Thick-nerved Apple-moss
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).

Thick-nerved Apple-moss

Habitat

Native to Europe, inhabiting ecosystems characteristic of the region.

Range

Found across Europe (6 countries). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

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 6 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇱🇺 Luxembourg 🇳🇴 Norway 🇵🇹 Portugal 🇸🇪 Sweden