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Black, or roof rat - RATTUS RATTUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Rat": "Rat" comes from the Old English word
"raet," for the animal.
Location: Worldwide in suitable habitat, not in colder regions.
Habitat: Terrestrial. The black rat has adapted to almost every conceivable habitat apart from colder regions and deserts. It is usually found in places where human beings are present.
Description: The tail is hairless and covered with rings of scales. The snout is pointed, and the eyes and ears are large. The coat is black or gray-brown. The feet are five-toed, however, the first toe of the front foot is very small. Length of head, body and tail about twenty inches. Weight about eight ounces.
Behavior: This is a gregarious, mainIy nocturnal rat. It usually feeds on fruit and grain, but in general it is omnivorous. It prefers warm places beneath roofs and in barns and granaries. It is very agile and a skillful climber, but it dislikes swimming. This rat creates major economic and health problems because it destroys foodstuffs and transmits infectious diseases, such as plague and typhus, to humans.
Reproduction: The female has 10 or 12 nipples. It is less prolific than the Norwegian rat, however it does breed several times a year. Gestation lasts 21-30 days. Each litter has five to eight young, which are born blind and hairless.
Go to the Rodents Page to learn more about all the gnawing animals.
Or go to the Rat Index to study other
rats.
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