Rattus rattus

2 Black Rat at Forde, ACT

Rattus rattus at Forde, ACT - 22 Feb 2020
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Identification history

Rattus rattus 9 Mar 2020 MichaelMulvaney
Rattus rattus 24 Feb 2020 DonFletcher
Unidentified 23 Feb 2020 sciencegal

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User's notes

Possibly a bush rat.

2 comments

AaronClausen wrote:
   23 Feb 2020
What a dirty rat.
DonFletcher wrote:
   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.

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Location information

Sighting information

  • 1 Abundance
  • 22 Feb 2020 07:19 AM Recorded on
  • sciencegal Recorded by

Species information

  • Rattus rattus Scientific name
  • Black Rat Common name
  • Not Sensitive
  • Exotic
  • Non-Invasive
  • Up to 1019.83m Recorded at altitude
  • 102 images trained Machine learning
  • External link More information
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