Rattus rattus
2 Black Rat at Forde, ACT
Identify this sighting
| Rattus rattus | MichaelMulvaney | 9 Mar 2020 | |
| Rattus rattus | DonFletcher | 24 Feb 2020 | |
| Unverified | sciencegal | 23 Feb 2020 |
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User's notes
Possibly a bush rat.
2 comments
24 Feb 2020
Hi Sciencegal, thanks for the sighting. I cant tell for sure from a head on photo what this is, but I suspect Rattus rattus, Black Rat. In decades of reported Smoky Mice, Broad-toothed Mice, Bush Rats, Antechinus and Bandicoots in Canberra Suburbs, so far every one has turned out to be a Black Rat (although some householders absolutely refuse to accept that) so I'm still looking. A photo showing the tail length in relation to body length, or a side view of the head and ears, or the pads under the feet would be easier to diagnose. A bush rats tail is shorter than its head-body when bent forward unnaturally. And its ears do not reach past the middle of its eye when folded forward.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.143554-35.166972
- Places Forde, ACT
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- 22 Feb 2020 07:19 AM Recorded on
- sciencegal Recorded by
Collections
Species information
- Rattus rattus Scientific name
- Black Rat Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Exotic
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1019.83m Recorded at altitude
- External link More information