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Black Rat

Mammals

The black rat, also called the roof rat or ship rat, is a common long-tailed rodent that most likely originated in the Indian subcontinent and is now found worldwide, closely associated with humans as a generalist omnivore. Black to light brown with a lighter underside, it is a significant agricultural pest that feeds on a wide range of crops, though most domestic pet rats actually descend from the related brown rat; in parts of India it is instead considered sacred, notably at the Karni Mata Temple in Deshnoke.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Omnivore 1
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 2
Relationship to People
Kept as Pets 1
Living or Extinct
Yes 3
Derived from this species' own Conservation Status: this atlas's IUCN category list has no Extinct value, so a set conservation-status is itself evidence of living status (w-bfill-g5-0924 browse backfill).
Scientific Name
Rattus rattus 3
Conservation Status
Least Concern 3
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Rodentia, Taxa
Source Catalogue of Life
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Black rat
  • diet-classification (MediaWiki batch-API article extract states it plainly)
    It is a generalist omnivore that can live on a wide variety of foods.
  • human-interaction (MediaWiki batch-API article extract states it plainly)
    It is sometimes kept as a pet, though most domestic rats are a subspecies of the brown rat.
View the Source
2. GBIF Species API
GBIF Species APIView the Source
3. Black Rat (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Lead paragraph
    The black rat (Rattus rattus), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent
  • Infobox, conservation status
    Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
View the Source
Wikidata: Black Rat
Wikidata Q106133, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Catalogue of Life
Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of LifeChild Taxon Of: RodentiaView the Source
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