Rodents And Lagomorphs Codexery

Black rat

A synanthropic rodent of global distribution and historical significance.

Last updated

Black rat

Courtesy of NIAID Ryan Kissinger · Public domain

The black rat can survive on many different kinds of food, making it a generalist omnivore.[1]

Scientific classification

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumChordata
  3. InfraclassPlacentalia
  4. OrderRodentia
  5. FamilyMuridae
  6. GenusRattus
  7. SpeciesRattus rattus

Named by (Linnaeus, 1758)

Close relatives

Other species of Rattus with a Codexery entry.

Sources: Wikipedia taxobox: Black rat (CC BY-SA 4.0) · order, family and genus agree with WoRMS AphiaID 993636 (CC BY 4.0)

Conservation status

Least Concern (LC)

  1. LC▲ this species
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX
Population trend
Not held in our sources — see the assessment
Assessment published
2021

Source: IUCN Red List assessment · GBIF copy of the Red List category

Where the black rat has been recorded

Where the black rat has been recorded56 mapped locations from 123,402 GBIF occurrence records; marked places: Karni Mata Temple, DeshnokeKarni Mata TempleDeshnoke

Each dot is a place where the species has been observed and reported (123,402 records, half-degree grid) — not a modelled range. 379 inland records left out (institution coordinates).

Map: drawn by Codexery. Data: GBIF occurrence search (records CC0 / CC BY) · Natural Earth basemap (public domain) · place coordinates: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Quick Facts

Genus
Rattus

Facts from the source article.

Biology and range

It is largely nocturnal and lives in close association with humans.[2] The black rat is an agile climber and often lives in trees or high places.[3][4] A typical adult weighs 75 to 230 g, with a head and body length of 12.75 to 18.25 cm.[5] Evidence indicates the black rat's place of origin is India and Southeast Asia, and it has subsequently spread across the globe.[6][7]

Dry upper sections of buildings, including wall cavities and false ceilings, are the preferred urban habitats for this species.[8] Shredded materials such as sticks, leaves, and cloth are used to construct the typically spherical nests of the black rat.[9] Farmers consider the black rat a major pest due to its consumption of many different agricultural crops.[10] At the Karni Mata Temple in Deshnoke, parts of India hold the black rat as sacred and treat it with respect.[10]

In cooler regions and urban settings, the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) has largely replaced the black rat.[11]

What the specialist sources record

The Texas Tech Natural Science Research Laboratory describes the black rat as a blackish or brownish, medium-sized, slender rat with a long, naked, scaly tail.[2] The same source notes that black rats breed throughout the year, with two peaks of production in February and March and again in May and June.[2] The Animal Diversity Web account states that Rattus rattus is found on all continents of the earth and thrives in tropical regions.[3] It also reports that individuals weigh between 70 and 300 g, and are between 16 and 22 cm in head and body length.[3]

The Pied Piper account notes that the black rat builds large, roughly spherical nests out of sticks and dry leaves up among the branches.[12] The same source states that black rats were responsible for spreading the Bubonic Plague during the Middle Ages as they carried the flea which transmitted this disease.[12] The Animal Diversity Web account adds that the gestation period ranges between 21 and 29 days, and young rats can reproduce within 3 to 5 months of birth.[3]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Black rat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kryštufek, "Rattus rattus", 2021 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. "Black Rats", Natural Science Research Laboratory. facts only, no text reused. depts.ttu.edu
  3. Gillespie, "Rattus rattus – house rat", Animal Diversity Web, 2004. facts only, no text reused. animaldiversity.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Black rat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Rattus Rattus", Pest Solutions, 22 November 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Black rat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Black rat, House Rat, Roof Rat, Ship Rat (Rattus rattus)", WAZA.org; Gillespie, "Rattus rattus – house rat", Animal Diversity Web, 2004; "The Wild Mammals of Missouri", University of Missouri Press, 2001; Engels, D. W., "Classical Cats: The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Cat", Routledge, 1999, p. 1–17 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Black rat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Black Rats", Natural Science Research Laboratory; Baig, "Phylogeography of the black rat Rattus rattus in India and the implications for its dispersal history in Eurasia", Biological Invasions, 2019, p. 417–433 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Black rat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Engels, "Classical Cats: The Rise and Fall of the Sacred Cat", Routledge, 1999, p. 111 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Black rat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Black Rats", Natural Science Research Laboratory (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Black rat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bennet, Stuart M., "The Black Rat (Rattus Rattus)", The Pied Piper; Marsh, Rex E., "Roof Rats", Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management, 1994 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Black rat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The History of Fancy Rats", American Fancy Rat and Mouse Association; Trembley, "Jatikaran: Caste, Rats, and the control of space at the Karni Mata Mandir", Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 2022-04-18, p. 717–735 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Black rat" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rowland, "Ancient Origins of Pet Rats", Santa Barbara Independent, 4 December 2009 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Bennet, Stuart M., "The Black Rat (Rattus Rattus)", The Pied Piper. facts only, no text reused. the-piedpiper.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Black rat (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Sources

Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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