Brown Rat vs Oriental House Rat

Rattus norvegicus compared with Rattus tanezumi

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Brown Rat	Oriental House Rat
Kingdom same	Animalia (动物界)	Animalia (动物界)
Phylum same	Chordata (脊索动物门)	Chordata (脊索动物门)
Class same	Mammalia (哺乳動物)	Mammalia (哺乳動物)
Order same	Rodentia (啮齿目)	Rodentia (啮齿目)
Family same	Muridae (Mice & Rats)	Muridae (Mice & Rats)
Genus same	Rattus	Rattus
Species	Rattus norvegicus	Rattus tanezumi

Evolutionary Relationship

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

Conservation Status

Brown Rat

LC — Least Concern

Oriental House Rat

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Brown Rat	Oriental House Rat
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).

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).

Brown Rat

褐家鼠（Rattus norvegicus）在IUCN红色名录中被列为无危（LC）。其分布广泛，种群数量稳定，无紧迫保护关切。

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 4 countries:

🇱🇸 Lesotho 🇵🇭 Philippines 🇿🇦 South Africa 🇹🇼 Taiwan