Mourning Cloak vs Oriental House Rat

Nymphalis antiopa compared with Rattus tanezumi

Key Differences

• Mourning Cloak is Critically Endangered while Oriental House Rat is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Mourning Cloak	Oriental House Rat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Insecta (Insects)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus	Nymphalis	Rattus
Species	Nymphalis antiopa	Rattus tanezumi

Evolutionary Relationship

Mourning Cloak and Oriental House Rat share a common ancestor at the Kingdom level: Animalia. (Animals)

Conservation Status

Mourning Cloak

CR — Critically Endangered

Oriental House Rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Mourning Cloak	Oriental House Rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Mourning Cloak

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including temperate broadleaf and mixed forests, temperate coniferous forests, and boreal forests and taiga, among 9 distinct biome types within the Palearctic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Found across Europe (39 countries) and North America (Canada, United States). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Oriental House Rat

Habitat

Inhabits tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests within the Oceanian biogeographic realm.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Eswatini, Lesotho, South Africa), Asia (Philippines, Taiwan), and Oceania and the Pacific (Kiribati).

Mourning Cloak

Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) is classified as Critically Endangered (CR) on the IUCN Red List. Facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild due to severe population decline and habitat loss.