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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
black
rat, ship rat, roof rat, house rat |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Mammalia |
| ORDER: |
Rodentia |
| FAMILY: |
Muridae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Rattus
(a rat) rattus |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
The
black rat is a medium-sized rat that is gray, brown,
or black in color, with a tail longer than its body
length. |
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| SIZE: |
Approximately
17-20 cm (7-8 in.) in length, tail 21-25 cm (8.5-10
in.) |
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| WEIGHT: |
140-280
g (5-10 oz.) |
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| DIET: |
Omnivorous,
but prefers grains, seeds, and fruits |
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| GESTATION: |
Gestation
lasts approximately 24 days; may have 6-12 young |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
About
2-3 months |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
Usually
less than 2 years |
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| RANGE: |
Originally
southeastern Asia, now many different habitats worldwide |
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| HABITAT: |
Tends
to occupy trees, although is still found on or underground |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Common |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
Black rats arrived in North America on ships from
Europe around the year 1540. |
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| 2. |
Rats and mice are different from each other in that
rats are larger and have nearly naked tails. |
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| 3. |
Rats are resistant to many diseases (including rabies),
poisons, and even radiation, allowing them to survive
and reproduce under most environmental conditions.
However, rats are incapable of vomiting, thus making
them very wary of eating unfamiliar things. |
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| 4. |
Their
continuously growing incisors can exert 24,000 pounds
of pressure per square inch, which is strong enough
to gnaw through a concrete block or lead pipe. They
survive very well near people because they have
the same eating habitats. In fact, rats destroy
five percent of the world's grain production each
year - that's enough to feed 130 million people! |
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| 5. |
In
the United States, there is estimated to be at least
one black rat for every human present. In India,
there are approximately 10 rats for every human.
Such high numbers are due to their high rate of
reproduction. In just three years, a pair of rats
is able to produce 20 million descendants. |
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| 6. |
Rats
are very flexible and resilient. They are able to
fit through a hole the size of a quarter, eat through
nearly anything, swim half a mile and tread water
from long lengths of time, and even fall from five
stories and still walk away! |
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Because of their high population numbers, black
rats provide an important food source for many predators,
including birds of prey, large cat and dog species,
snakes, lizards, and in some areas, humans!
Black rats are also involved in natural cycles of
population control, as they can carry and spread
various diseases. Rats also eat other animals, controlling
small animal populations. In fact, rats are a more
serious threat to poultry than are foxes and cats
because they kill the birds and eat their eggs!
Even
though rats have indirectly caused human deaths,
the black rat in particular is used as a scientific
research animal, and as such has saved more peoples
lives than they have harmed.
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|
|
Burt, W.H. And R.P. Grossenheider. Peterson Field
Guide: Mammals. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.,
1976. |
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Gotch, A.F. Mammals - Their Latin Names Explained.
Dorset: Blandford Press, Ltd.,1979. |
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Nowak, R. M. Walker's Mammals of the World.
Vol. 2. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1991.
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| Parker,
S., ed. Grzimek's Encyclopedia of Mammals. Vol.
3. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1990. |
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