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    Rattus Neotoma Bandicota Dipodomys: Rats Are Various Medium-Sized, Long-Tailed

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    Elias Bandy
    Rats are medium-sized rodents found around the world. The best known species are the black rat and brown rat, which originated in Asia. Rats are generally distinguished from mice by their larger size, though some smaller rodents are also called rats. Wild rats can carry diseases transmissible to humans, and the black rat played a role in transmitting the plague during the Black Death pandemic.

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    Rattus Neotoma Bandicota Dipodomys: Rats Are Various Medium-Sized, Long-Tailed

    Uploaded by

    Elias Bandy
    48 views2 pages
    Rats are medium-sized rodents found around the world. The best known species are the black rat and brown rat, which originated in Asia. Rats are generally distinguished from mice by their larger size, though some smaller rodents are also called rats. Wild rats can carry diseases transmissible to humans, and the black rat played a role in transmitting the plague during the Black Death pandemic.

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    Rat Animal

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    Rats are medium-sized rodents found around the world. The best known species are the black rat and brown rat, which originated in Asia. Rats are generally distinguished from mice by their larger size, though some smaller rodents are also called rats. Wild rats can carry diseases transmissible to humans, and the black rat played a role in transmitting the plague during the Black Death pandemic.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    48 views2 pages

    Rattus Neotoma Bandicota Dipodomys: Rats Are Various Medium-Sized, Long-Tailed

    Uploaded by

    Elias Bandy
    Rats are medium-sized rodents found around the world. The best known species are the black rat and brown rat, which originated in Asia. Rats are generally distinguished from mice by their larger size, though some smaller rodents are also called rats. Wild rats can carry diseases transmissible to humans, and the black rat played a role in transmitting the plague during the Black Death pandemic.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents.

    Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in
    the genus Rattus. Other rat genera include Neotoma (pack rats), Bandicota (bandicoot rats) and Dipodomys (kangaroo rats).
    Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size. Generally, when someone discovers a large muroid rodent, its common name includes the
    term rat, while if it is smaller, its name includes the term mouse. The common terms rat and mouse are not taxonomically specific.
    The best-known rat species are the black rat (Rattus rattus) and the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). This group, generally known as the Old
    World rats or true rats, originated in Asia. Rats are bigger than most Old World mice, which are their relatives, but seldom weigh over 500 grams
    (17 1⁄2 oz) in the wild.[1]
    The term rat is also used in the names of other small mammals that are not true rats. Examples include the North American pack rats (aka wood
    rats[2]) and a number of species loosely called kangaroo rats.[2] Rats such as the bandicoot rat (Bandicota bengalensis) are murine rodents related
    to true rats but are not members of the genus Rattus.
    Male rats are called bucks; unmated females, does, pregnant or parent females, dams; and infants, kittens or pups. A group of rats is referred to
    as a mischief.[3]
    The common species are opportunistic survivors and often live with and near humans; therefore, they are known as commensals. They may cause
    substantial food losses, especially in developing countries.[4] However, the widely distributed and problematic commensal species of rats are a
    minority in this diverse genus. Many species of rats are island endemics, some of which have become endangered due to habitat loss or
    competition with the brown, black, or Polynesian rat.[5]

    Skeleton of a black rat (Rattus rattus) on display at the Museum of Osteology.

    Wild rodents, including rats, can carry many different zoonotic pathogens, such as Leptospira, Toxoplasma gondii, and Campylobacter.[6] The Black
    Death is traditionally believed to have been caused by the microorganism Yersinia pestis, carried by the tropical rat flea (Xenopsylla cheopis),
    which preyed on black rats living in European cities during the epidemic outbreaks of the Middle Ages; these rats were used as transport hosts.
    Another zoonotic disease linked to the rat is foot-and-mouth disease.[7]
    A rat in a suburb of Vancouver

    Rats become sexually mature at age 6 weeks, but reach social maturity at about 5 to 6 months of age. The average lifespan of rats varies by
    species, but many only live about a year due to predation.[8]
    The black and brown rats diverged from other Old World rats in the forests of Asia during the beginning of the Pleistocene.[9]

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