Rattus
| Rattus Temporal range: Early Pleistocene – Recent
| |
|---|---|
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| The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Tribe: | Rattini |
| Genus: | Rattus Fischer de Waldheim, 1803 |
| Species | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Stenomys Thomas, 1910 | |
The genus Rattus refers to a specific genus of muroid rodents, all typically called rats. However, the term rat can also be applied to species outside of this genus.
Species and description
The best-known Rattus species are the black rat (R. rattus) and the brown rat (R. norvegicus). The group is generally known as the Old World rats or true rats, and originated in Asia. Rats are bigger than most Old World mice, which are their relatives, but seldom weigh over 500 grams (1.1 lb) in the wild.[1]
Taxonomy of Rattus
The genus Rattus is a member of the giant subfamily Murinae. Several other murine genera are sometimes considered part of Rattus: Lenothrix, Anonymomys, Sundamys, Kadarsanomys, Diplothrix, Margaretamys, Lenomys, Komodomys, Palawanomys, Bunomys, Nesoromys, Stenomys, Taeromys, Paruromys, Abditomys, Tryphomys, Limnomys, Tarsomys, Bullimus, Apomys, Millardia, Srilankamys, Niviventer, Maxomys, Leopoldamys, Berylmys, Mastomys, Myomys, Praomys, Hylomyscus, Heimyscus, Stochomys, Dephomys, and Aethomys.
The genus Rattus proper contains 64 extant species. A subgeneric breakdown of the species has been proposed, but does not include all species.
Species
Genus Rattus – Typical rats
- incertae sedis
- Annandale's rat (Rattus annandalei) – Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore
- Enggano rat (Rattus enganus) – Indonesia
- Philippine forest rat (Rattus everetti) – the Philippines
- Polynesian rat or kiore (Rattus exulans) – Fiji and most Polynesian islands, New Zealand, Easter Island, and Hawaii
- Hainald's rat (Rattus hainaldi) – Indonesia
- Hoogerwerf's rat (Rattus hoogerwerfi) – Indonesia
- Korinch's rat (Rattus korinchi) – Indonesia
- †Maclear's rat (Rattus macleari) – Christmas Island
- Nillu rat (Rattus montanus) – Sri Lanka
- Molaccan prehensile-tailed rat (Rattus morotaiensis) – Indonesia
- †Bulldog rat (Rattus nativitatis) – Christmas Island
- Kerala rat (Rattus ranjiniae) – India
- New Ireland forest rat (Rattus sanila)
- Andaman rat (Rattus stoicus) – Andaman Islands
- Timor rat (Rattus timorensis) – Timor
- R. norvegicus group
- Himalayan field rat (Rattus nitidus) – Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Palau, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam
- Brown rat or Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) – worldwide except Antarctica
- Turkestan rat (Rattus pyctoris; obs. Rattus turkestanicus) – Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, and Pakistan
- R. rattus group
- Sunburned rat (Rattus adustus) – Enggano Island, Indonesia
- Sikkim rat (Rattus andamanensis) – Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam
- Ricefield rat (Rattus argentiventer) – Southeast Asia
- Summit rat (Rattus baluensis) – Malaysia
- Aceh rat (Rattus blangorum)
- Nonsense rat (Rattus burrus) – India
- Hoffmann's rat (Rattus hoffmanni) – Indonesia
- Koopman's rat (Rattus koopmani) – Indonesia
- Lesser ricefield rat (Rattus losea) – China, Laos, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam
- Mentawai rat (Rattus lugens) – Indonesia
- Mindoro black rat (Rattus mindorensis) – the Philippines
- Little soft-furred rat (Rattus mollicomulus) – Indonesia
- Osgood's rat (Rattus osgoodi) – Vietnam
- Palm rat (Rattus palmarum) – India
- Black rat (Rattus rattus) – worldwide except Antarctica
- Sahyadris forest rat (Rattus satarae)
- Simalur rat (Rattus simalurensis) – Indonesia
- Tanezumi rat (Rattus tanezumi) – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam
- Tawitawi forest rat (Rattus tawitawiensis) – the Philippines
- Malayan field rat (Rattus tiomanicus) – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand
- R. xanthurus group
- Bonthain rat (Rattus bontanus; obs. Rattus foramineus) – Indonesia
- Opossum rat (Rattus marmosurus) – Indonesia
- Peleng rat (Rattus pelurus) – Indonesia
- Southeastern xanthurus rat (Rattus salocco]) – Indonesia
- Yellow-tailed rat (Rattus xanthurus) – Indonesia
- R. leucopus group (New Guinean group)
- Vogelkop mountain rat (Rattus arfakiensis)
- Western New Guinea mountain rat (Rattus arrogans)
- Sula rat (Rattus elaphinus) – Indonesia
- Spiny Ceram rat (Rattus feliceus) – Indonesia
- Giluwe rat (Rattus giluwensis) – Papua New Guinea
- Japen rat (Rattus jobiensis) – Indonesia
- Cape York rat (Rattus leucopus) – Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea
- Eastern rat (Rattus mordax) – Papua New Guinea
- Moss-forest rat (Rattus niobe) – Papua New Guinea, Indonesia
- New Guinean rat (Rattus novaeguineae) – Papua New Guinea
- Arianus's rat (Rattus omichlodes)
- Pocock’s highland rat (Rattus pococki)
- Large New Guinea spiny rat (Rattus praetor) – Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands
- Glacier rat (Rattus richardsoni) – Indonesia
- Stein's rat (Rattus steini) – Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
- Van Deusen's rat (Rattus vandeuseni) – Papua New Guinea
- Slender rat (Rattus verecundus) – Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
- R. fuscipes group (Australian group)
- Dusky rat (Rattus colletti) – Australia
- Bush rat (Rattus fuscipes) – Australia
- Australian swamp rat (Rattus lutreolus) – Australia
- Dusky field rat (Rattus sordidus) – Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea
- Pale field rat (Rattus tunneyi) – Australia
- Long-haired rat (Rattus villosissimus) – Australia
Phylogeny
The following phylogeny of selected Rattus species is from Pagès, et al. (2010).[2]
References
- ^ "Habits, Habitat & Types of Mice". Live Science. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Pagès, Marie; Chaval, Yannick; Herbreteau, Vincent; Waengsothorn, Surachit; Cosson, Jean-François; Hugot, Jean-Pierre; Morand, Serge; Michaux, Johan (2010). "Revisiting the taxonomy of the Rattini tribe: a phylogeny-based delimitation of species boundaries". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 10: 184. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-10-184. Archived from the original on 2017-07-10.
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