Brown Rat vs Window Gnat

Rattus norvegicus compared with Sylvicola fenestralis

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Window Gnat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Rodentia (Rodents)	Diptera (Diptera)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Anisopodidae
Genus	Rattus	Sylvicola
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Sylvicola fenestralis

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and Window Gnat share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Window Gnat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Window Gnat
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).

Window Gnat

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

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