Black Rat

Rattus rattus

Black Rat

“ The same rain that drowns the rat will grow the hay. ”

– Amy Grant

Information

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Clade: Synapsida

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Muridae

Genius: Rattus

Species: Rattus rattus

Descendant: Rattus

Named by: Carl Linnaeus

Year Published: 1758

Size: 12.75 to 18.25 cm (5.0 to 7.2 in) long in length; 75 to 230 g (2.6 to 8.1 oz) in weight

Lifespan: 18 months or longer

Type: 

Title: 

Pantheon: Terran/Gaian

Time Period: Holocene

Alignment: Shy

Threat Level: ★★

Diet: Omnivorous 🌿🥩🍊🌱

Elements: Dark, normal

Inflicts: Darkblight, malaria, leptospirosis, hantavirus

Weaknesses: Fire, air, electric, ice, arcane, fae, chaos

Casualties: ???

Based On: itself

Conservation Status: Least Concern - IUCN Red List

Black Rat (Rattus rattus) is the species of rats found in the Indomalayan ecoregion, now found elsewhere in the world during the Roman Empire. Also known as house rat, ship rat, or roof rat.

Physical Appearance

Despite its name, the black rat exhibits several color forms. It is usually black to light brown in color with a lighter underside. The black rat also has a scraggly coat of black fur and is slightly smaller than the brown rat. Their appearances are big brown eyes, a pointed nose, big ears, a slender body, and a very long tail compared to brown rats. Their skin color was from blackish brown to light golden brown, and their eye color was dark brown.

Abilities

Some black rats carry many nasty diseases which they can spread to humans, normally through their urine. including; Leptospirosis or Weil's disease, Salmonella, Listeria, Toxoplasma gondii and Hantavirus. Black Rats can inflict a great amount of structural damage.


The common symptoms of a rat bite are pain, redness, swelling around the bite and, if secondary infection occurs, a weeping, pus-filled wound. Other rat bite symptoms may include those associated with bacterial infections known as streptobacillary rat bite fever and spirillary rat bite fever.


Black rats, which scale trees and enter homes through coin-sized holes in attics, find peanut butter irresistible. Brown rats, which typically rummage through garbage and snake their way inside homes via tiny cracks, can be tempted with smelly cheese.

Weather Phenomenon

Ecology

Black rats are considered omnivores and eat a wide range of foods, including seeds, fruit, stems, leaves, fungi, and a variety of invertebrates and vertebrates. They are generalists, and thus not very specific in their food preferences, which is indicated by their tendency to feed on any meal provided for cows, swine, chickens, cats, and dogs. The predator for Black Rats are weasels, hawks, eagles, falcons, cats, wolves, catfishes, sharks, to even larger ones. They are a threat to many natural habitats because they feed on birds and insects. 


The Black Rats have been found to occupy dens located in trees, as well as on the ground. 

Behavior

Even when both wild and domesticated, the black rat will often show aggressive behavior, whether in a cage or outside. Black rats ran away from other rivalries, like brown rats and house mice. Black rats were very involved with various diseases after the Black Death.


Plus, both black rats and brown rats are known to be quite aggressive, and they can bite if they feel threatened. Despite the black rat's tendency to displace native species, it can also aid in increasing species population numbers and maintaining species diversity. The bush rat, a common vector for spore dispersal of truffles, has been extirpated from many micro-habitats in Australia.

Distribution and Habitat

Originally an Indomalayan species, the black rat was widely introduced across the globe as a result of human activities. In Europe, it has been present since ancient times and is found in most countries. A widespread and abundant species.


Tamed

Black rat likes cheese or seeds to feed three or four times until yours.

Lore

Evidence such as DNA and bone fragments also indicates that it did not originate in Europe but migrated from India to Pakistan. It probably spread across Europe in the wake of the Roman conquest.

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Foreign Languages

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Trivia