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Rattus rattus

File:House_Rat_David_Raju.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Rattus rattus

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Also known as black rat, black ship rat, roof rat, ship rat, house rat

species of mammal

OverviewAI-generated

Rattus rattus, commonly known as the black rat or Brown Rat, is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It belongs to the genus Rattus and was described by Linnaeus in 1758. The organism is classified within the class Mammalia, order Rodentia, and phylum Chordata. Its scientific name is accepted, and it is not considered extinct.

The taxon has a recorded range that includes Macapá. It is invasive to Australia and Madagascar. The IUCN Red List assessed its conservation status as Least Concern in 2021. The longest observed lifespan for this species is 4.2 years. Various institutions, including RBINS-SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE, MVZ, and MLZ, hold records of the species from countries such as Dr Congo, Madagascar, Belgium, Mexico, and Turkey.

Synthesized by Vinony from 46 facts across 8 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, iNaturalist, Gbif Occ, IUCN Red List, iDigBio, WoRMS, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

Least Concern

black rat

Rattus rattus

SPECIES

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. ClassMammalia
  4. OrderRodentia
  5. FamilyMuridae
Observations34,469
Observations recorded138,858

via GBIF · IUCN

Museum specimens

Specimen records
25,469
With media
462
Family
Muridae
Collections
RBINS-SCIENTIFIC HERITAGE, MVZ, MLZ
Recorded in
Dr Congo, Madagascar, Belgium, Mexico, Turkey, Rwanda, Burundi, Brazil
iDigBio →

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Parent taxon
Rattus
Image
20191212 Szczury w Świątyni Karni Maty w Deśnok 1038 8111 DxO.jpg
Show 11 more facts
taxon rank
species
IUCN conservation status
Least Concern
Commons category
Rattus rattus
taxon name
Rattus rattus
Commons gallery
Rattus rattus
taxon common name
mustarotta
longest observed lifespan
4.2
taxon author citation
(Linnaeus, 1758)
invasive to
Madagascar
short name
R. rattus
taxon range
Macapá
Sources (8)

via Wikidata · CC0

~21 min read

Encyclopedic overview

The black rat (Rattus rattus), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus Rattus, in the subfamily Murinae. It is a generalist omnivore that can live on a wide variety of foods. It associates extensively with humans, and most populations are synanthropic. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is now found worldwide.

The black rat is black to light brown in colour with a lighter underside. It is a prominent pest to farmers because it feeds on a wide range of agricultural crops. It is sometimes kept as a pet, though most domestic rats are a subspecies of the brown rat. In parts of India, it is considered sacred and respected, notably at the Karni Mata Temple in Deshnoke.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Rattus rattus” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (13)

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via Wikidata sitelinks · CC0