Summary ²

The black rat (Rattus rattus, also known as the ship rat, roof rat, house rat, Alexandrine rat, old English rat, and other names) is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus (rats) in the subfamily Murinae (murine rodents). The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world. It was the first introduced rat species to colonize Haida Gwaii, and threatens endemic fauna and globally significant seabird colonies.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Carita Bergman, all rights reserved, uploaded by Carita Bergman
2. Adapted by Carita Bergman from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rattus_rattus

More Info

• iNaturalist.ca taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• ASM Mammal Diversity Database
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• CalPhotos
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• iNaturalist Mammal Working Group
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• NBN Atlas
• Rat identification in New Zealand
• VertNet
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム

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