Onion Earthball vs Polynesian rat

Scleroderma cepa compared with Rattus exulans

Key Differences

• Onion Earthball is Data Deficient while Polynesian rat is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Onion Earthball	Polynesian rat
Kingdom	Fungi (Fungi)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Basidiomycota (Club Fungi)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Agaricomycetes (Mushrooms)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Boletales (Boletales)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family	Sclerodermataceae	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus	Scleroderma	Rattus
Species	Scleroderma cepa	Rattus exulans

Conservation Status

Onion Earthball

DD — Data Deficient

Polynesian rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Onion Earthball	Polynesian rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Onion Earthball

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Taiwan), Europe (6 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Brazil).

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 2 countries:

🇹🇼 Taiwan 🇺🇸 United States