6 Bush Rat at QPRC LGA
Identification history
| Rattus fuscipes | 14 Feb 2024 | DonFletcher | ||
| Rattus rattus | 14 Feb 2024 | CarbonAI | ||
| Unverified | 14 Feb 2024 | arjay |
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User's notes
Not a black rat. Presumably either a brown or bush rat.Tail is about the same length as its body.
5 comments
arjay
wrote:
14 Feb 2024
Thanks heaps. And for the swift response. The one in the photo was released yesterday. I have another caught last night and it will also now get released.
DonFletcher
wrote:
15 Feb 2024
You have three possible Rattus species: introduced R. rattus (Black/Roof/Ship Rat); native R. fuscipes (Bush Rat); and native R. lutreolus (Swamp Rat).
Dentition is the definitive thing and dimensions from dead specimens, or DNA, so to ID rodents from images is not easy. Rattus rattus has a tail length longer than its head-body length, and ears that reach past the first 1/3 of the eye when pressed forward with a finger. R. rattus ears are longer than R fuscipes which are longer than R lutreolus. R. lutreolus has grey fur. Bush rats are variable but the longer dark guard hairs are a feature. Head shape is different in mature R rattus but hard to define. Number of teats can help. Pads under the hindfoot often differ, also the colour of the upper surface of the hind feet. Juvenile R rattus look a bit like everything else. Some people can separate the ID of the juveniles but I can't do it.
Dentition is the definitive thing and dimensions from dead specimens, or DNA, so to ID rodents from images is not easy. Rattus rattus has a tail length longer than its head-body length, and ears that reach past the first 1/3 of the eye when pressed forward with a finger. R. rattus ears are longer than R fuscipes which are longer than R lutreolus. R. lutreolus has grey fur. Bush rats are variable but the longer dark guard hairs are a feature. Head shape is different in mature R rattus but hard to define. Number of teats can help. Pads under the hindfoot often differ, also the colour of the upper surface of the hind feet. Juvenile R rattus look a bit like everything else. Some people can separate the ID of the juveniles but I can't do it.
arjay
wrote:
15 Feb 2024
Thanks for that. We have no trouble identifying the black rats which are what we catch the most often and actually what we set the traps for since they are introduced and not appropriate in this environment (like foxes and pigs and rabbits which we also remove when possible). And yes we use tail length and ears as the identifier. It isn't R. lutreolus either (tail length seems a giveaway on that). Which leaves the bush rat. Someone mentioned brown rats to me which is why I asked. I didn't think they were found outside city areas.
These are actually the first live bush rats I have seen here. I found one dead one a few years ago.
These are actually the first live bush rats I have seen here. I found one dead one a few years ago.
Location information
- Places Charleys Forest, NSW
Sighting information
- 1 Abundance
- arjay Recorded by
-
Collections
Featured arjay Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Rattus fuscipes Rats Rodents Mammals
Additional information
- Male Gender
- Alive / healthy Animal health
Species information
- Rattus fuscipes Scientific name
- Bush Rat Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- Up to 1585.55m Recorded at altitude
Record quality
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes