Redirected from Black rat
Black Rat | ||||||||||||||
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Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
Rattus rattus
Reference: 180362 (http://www.itis.usda.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180362) |
Despite its name it comes in several colour forms and is a poor swimmer. It is usually black to light brown in colour with a lighter underside. A typical rat will be 20 cm long with a further 20 cm of tail. It is agile and climbs well, tending even to flee upwards. It is nocturnal and omnivorous, with a preference for grains although it spoils more than it consumes. In a suitable environment it will breed throughout the year, with a female producing three to six litters a year of up to twenty young. A rat can live for up to four years. Social groups of up to sixty can be formed.
It is a carrier of a number of disease, of which bubonic plague, typhus, and trichinosis are the most well known.
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