Rattus rattus

Black Rat at Gundaroo, NSW

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Identification history

Rattus rattus	9 Jun 2025	DonFletcher
Rattus rattus	9 Jun 2025	CarbonAI
Rattus fuscipes	9 Jun 2025	MaartjeSevenster

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User's notes

Weight about 140 grams, tail 220 mm and head-body along the spine about 210 mm. Bushrat seems to fit best but colouring was very striking tan with white belly, and measurements are at the upper end of suggested size range.

3 comments

DonFletcher wrote:

9 Jun 2025

Hi @MaartjeSevenster, thanks for your well positioned and comprehensive photos and especially for the measurements. The only Rattus in Australia with tail longer than head-body, as an adult, is Rattus rattus and it comes in a wide variety of fur colours so the common name Black Rat is highly misleading. Roof rat better reflets its commensalism and penchant for climbing, but it is also widespread in bushland where it preys on birds nests, which the Bush Rat does not. Fur colour of the two species overlaps.

MaartjeSevenster wrote:

9 Jun 2025

Thanks @DonFletcher this one (and friend(s)) had taken up residence in our fruit and vegie enclosure and taken a liking to lettuce and apples. Which again confused me a bit, but I guess lately all mammals have had to eat whatever was available...

DonFletcher wrote:

9 Jun 2025

Hi @MaartjeSevenster, Black Rats will eat almost anything but they quite like fruit and veggies. Living in the suburbs, we and various neighbours have chooks, so if I put a camera out, there are always rats. They travel between the backyards, eat the food that the chooks spill from the feeders, eat fruit on the trees, and raid any compost bins they can get into. In winter they have sometimes tried to set up house in our roofspace or below our floor. We once had one that learned to get into the kitchen and do some amazing jumps to get onto the bench, where it would sample the tomatoes and whatever was in the fruit bowl. It invested a lot of effort and risk to get that fruit.

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Location information

Sighting information

At least 1 Abundance
31 May 2025 07:14 AM Recorded on
MaartjeSevenster Recorded by
Collections
MaartjeSevenster NatureMapr Canberra & Southern Tablelands Rattus rattus Rats Rodents Mammals

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

Record quality

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Nearby sighting(s) of same species
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Description
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