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Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' (pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot rats) and ''Dipodomys'' (kangaroo rats). Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size. Usually the common name of a large muroid rodent will include the word "rat", while a smaller muroid's name will include "mouse". The common terms ''rat'' and ''mouse'' are not taxonomically specific. There are 56 known species of rats in the world. Species and description The best-known rat species are the black rat (''Rattus rattus'') and the brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''). This group, generally known as the Old World rats or true rats, originated in Asia. Rats are bigger than most Old World mice, which are their relatives, but seldom weigh over in the wild. The term ''rat'' is also used in the names of other small mammals that are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown Rat
The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest Muroidea, muroids, it is a brown or grey rodent with a body length of up to long, and a tail slightly shorter than that. It weighs between . Thought to have originated in northern China and neighbouring areas, this rodent has now spread to all continents except Antarctica, and is the dominant rat in Europe and much of North America, having become Naturalisation (biology), naturalised across the world. With rare exceptions, the brown rat lives wherever humans live, particularly in urban areas. They are omnivorous, reproduce rapidly, and can serve as a vector for several human diseases. Selective breeding of the brown rat has produced the fancy rat (rats kept as pets), as well as the laboratory rat (rats used as model organisms in biological research). Both fancy rats and laborato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
