Brown Rat vs European water vole

Rattus norvegicus compared with Arvicola amphibius

Key Differences

• Brown Rat is Least Concern while European water vole is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	European water vole
Kingdom same	Animalia (प्राणी)	Animalia (प्राणी)
Phylum same	Chordata (रज्जुकी)	Chordata (रज्जुकी)
Class same	Mammalia (स्तनधारी)	Mammalia (स्तनधारी)
Order same	Rodentia (कृंतक)	Rodentia (कृंतक)
Family	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Cricetidae
Genus	Rattus	Arvicola
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Arvicola amphibius

Evolutionary Relationship

Brown Rat and European water vole share a common ancestor at the Order level: Rodentia. (कृंतक)

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

European water vole

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	European water vole
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).

European water vole

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and Sweden. Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

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 5 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇩🇰 Denmark 🇳🇴 Norway 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇪 Sweden