Brown rat
Scientific name: Rattus norvegicus (Berkenhout, 1769)
Overview
The brown rat, also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread, common species of rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown or grey rodent with a body length of up to 28 cm (11 in) long, and a tail slightly shorter than that. It weighs between 140 and 500 g. Thought to have originated in northern China and neighbouring areas, it has now spread to all continents except Antarctica, and is the dominant rat in Europe and much of North America, having become naturalised across the world. With rare exceptions, the brown rat lives wherever humans live, particularly in urban areas. It is omnivorous, reproduces rapidly, and can be a vector for several human diseases.
From the Wikipedia article “Brown rat”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Australia; Caribbean; Europe & Northern Asia (excluding China); North America; Southern Asia.
Common names
Also known in English as common rat, Norway Rat.
Names in other languages (12)
- Arabic
- جرذ بني
- Chinese
- 溝鼠, 褐家鼠
- French
- rat brun, rat surmulot, surmulot
- German
- Wanderratte
- Hindi
- रैटस नॉर्वेजिकस
- Indonesian
- Tikus got
- Japanese
- ドブネズミ
- Persian
- موش صحرایی قهوهای
- Portuguese
- rato-castanho
- Russian
- серая крыса
- Spanish
- rata parda
- Urdu
- بھورا چوہا
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Integrated Taxonomic Information System.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q184224, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Brown rat”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
- Range map — Jrockley, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026