🐭Black rat
The black rat, 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.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2021.
- Body mass
- 0.2 kg
- Body length
- 0.2 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 4.2 years
Everything we know about the Black rat
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass0.2 kgCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 0.2 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Body length0.2 mCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Brain mass1.82 gCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan4.2 yearsCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 4.2 yearsAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Generation length1.5 yearsCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Age at maturity115 daysCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Gestation22 daysCOMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 22 daysAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Litter sizeabout 6COMBINEOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Figures vary
- 7.3AnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Trophic levelOmnivoreCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Activity cycleNocturnalCOMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Home range0 km²COMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Population density1,454 per km²COMBINEDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l0.2 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Black rat yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classMammalia
- ›orderRodentia
- ›familyMuridae
- ›genusRattus
- ›speciesRattus rattus
- classMammals · Mammalia
- orderRodents · Rodentia
- suborderMyomorpha
- familyMuridae
All 13 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- classMammals · Mammalia
- subclassTheria
- superorderEuarchontoglires
- orderRodents · Rodentia
- suborderMyomorpha
- familyMuridae
More about the Black rat
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