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Brown rat, Norway rat - RATTUS NORVEGICUS
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Rat": "Rat" comes from the Old English word
"raet," for the animal.
Location: Worldwide.
Habitat: Terrestrial. Like the black rat, this species has adapted to more or less every habitat except the desert.
Description: Not quite so slender as the black rat, its tail is relatively shorter, the snout is less pointed, and the ears are shorter. The coat is dark gray on the back and off-white underneath. The tail is covered with rings of scales. Length of head and body is about eleven inches, with an additional nine inch tail. It can weigh over a pound.
Behavior: This species lives communally, and preferably close to, or in contact with man, although it can still be found in natural environments. Its favorite haunts are sewers, stables, cowsheds, and cellars. It is mainly active at night. This rat is not as good a climber as the black rat, but is an excellent swimmer. It prefers food of animal origin, such as fish, mice, and chickens, but it is highly omnivorous.
Reproduction: The female has 10 or 12 nipples. She produces two or three litters a year, each with six to a dozen young, after a gestation period of three to four weeks.
Note: This rat is a serious pest because of the health hazards caused by its presence, including the transmittal of such diseases as bubonic plague and murine (mouse) typhus. This species includes the familiar white laboratory rats.
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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