#0087 · 🦊 mammals

Black Rat

🇳🇱 Zwarte Rat ·Rattus rattus

LCleast concern 🦊 Mammals 📍 in Europe, not in NL

9 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The black rat ( Rattus rattus ), also known as the ship rat , roof rat , house rat , is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus (rats) in the subfamily Murinae. The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 18,659iNaturalist observations
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
18,659 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
Not originally Dutch: it was introduced to the Netherlands.