cow-itch vs Polynesian rat

Mucuna pruriens compared with Rattus exulans

Key Differences

• cow-itch is Not Evaluated while Polynesian rat is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	cow-itch	Polynesian rat
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Fabales (Legumes & Allies)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Fabaceae	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus	Mucuna	Rattus
Species	Mucuna pruriens	Rattus exulans

Conservation Status

cow-itch

NE — Not Evaluated

Polynesian rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	cow-itch	Polynesian rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

cow-itch

Habitat

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

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (6 countries), North America (4 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (4 countries), and South America (4 countries).

Polynesian rat

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 4 distinct biome types spanning the Australasia and Indomalayan realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (6 countries), Europe (United Kingdom), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (11 countries), and South America (Chile).

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇦🇺 Australia 🇫🇯 Fiji 🇳🇷 Nauru 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea