Rattus rattus
Black Rat at Gundaroo, NSW
Identify this sighting
| Rattus rattus | DonFletcher | 9 Jun 2025 | ||
| Rattus rattus | CarbonAI | 9 Jun 2025 | ||
| Rattus fuscipes | MaartjeSevenster | 9 Jun 2025 |
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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
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.
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...
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.
Location information
- Coordinates 149.332152-35.024212
- Maps MTR591 at Gundaroo
- Places Gundaroo, NSW
Sighting information
- At least 1 Abundance
- 31 May 2025 07:14 AM Recorded on
- MaartjeSevenster 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
Record quality
Quality score
4 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- Description
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species
- GPS evidence of location
- Additional attributes