black rat vs Oriental House Rat

Rattus rattus compared with Rattus tanezumi

Key Differences

• black rat is Extinct while Oriental House Rat is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	black rat	Oriental House Rat
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Mammalia (Mammals)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order same	Rodentia (Rodents)	Rodentia (Rodents)
Family same	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus same	Rattus	Rattus
Species	Rattus rattus	Rattus tanezumi

Evolutionary Relationship

black rat and Oriental House Rat share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Rattus.

Conservation Status

black rat

EX — Extinct

Oriental House Rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	black rat	Oriental House Rat
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

black rat

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (16 countries), Asia (13 countries), Europe (41 countries), North America (16 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (14 countries), and South America (10 countries).

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).

black rat

The Black rat (Rattus rattus) is a species in the genus Rattus. It is currently classified as Extinct on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 5 countries:

🇸🇿 Eswatini 🇰🇮 Kiribati 🇱🇸 Lesotho 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇹🇼 Taiwan