''Rattus'' is a genus of muroid rodents, all typically called rats. However, the term

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

can also be applied to rodent species outside of this genus.

Species and description

The best-known ''Rattus'' species are the

black rat The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus ''Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is n ...

(''R. rattus'') and the brown rat (''R. norvegicus''). The group is generally known as the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...

rats or true rats and originated in Asia. Rats are bigger than most Old World

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

, which are their relatives, but seldom weigh over in the wild.

Taxonomy of ''Rattus''

The genus ''Rattus'' is a member of the giant subfamily Murinae. Several other murine genera are sometimes considered part of ''Rattus'': ''

Lenothrix The gray tree rat (''Lenothrix canus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae and the only species in the monotypic genus ''Lenothrix''. It is found in forests in Indonesia and Malaysia. A common species, the IUCN has rated it as being ...

'', ''

Anonymomys The Mindoro climbing rat or Mindoro rat (''Anonymomys mindorensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.Musser, Guy G. "Notes on systematics of Indo-Malayan murid rodents, and descriptions of new genera and species from Ceylon, Sulawes ...

'', ''

Sundamys ''Sundamys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae, found mostly in Indonesia and Malaysia.Camacho-Sanchez, M., Jennifer A. Leonard, Yuli Fitriana, Marie-Ka Tilak, and Pierre-Henri Fabre. 2017. "The generic status of Rattus annandalei (Bonh ...

'', ''

Kadarsanomys Sody's tree rat (''Kadarsanomys sodyi'') is a rodent species in the family Muridae that has been recorded only in bamboo forest in Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park, West Java, Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, ...

'', ''

Diplothrix ''Diplothrix'' is a genus of two species of rodents in the family Muridae. ''Diplothrix legata'' occurs in the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. ''Diplothrix yangziensis ''Diplothrix'' is a genus of two species of rodents in the family Muridae. ''Dipl ...

'', '' Margaretamys'', ''

Lenomys ''Lenomys'' is a genus of rodent endemic to Sulawesi. It contains the living trefoil-toothed giant rat ''(Lenomys meyeri)'' and the extinct ''Lenomys grovesi''. References

Rodent genera Mammal genera with one living species Taxa named ...

'', '' Komodomys'', ''

Palawanomys The Palawan soft-furred mountain rat (''Palawanomys furvus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only species in the genus ''Palawanomys''. It is found only in Palawan, Philippines, and has been recorded on Mount Mantalin ...

'', '' Bunomys'', '' Nesoromys'', ''Stenomys'', '' Taeromys'', '' Paruromys'', '' Abditomys'', '' Tryphomys'', '' Limnomys'', ''

Tarsomys ''Tarsomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae found exclusively in Mindanao, Philippines. It contains the following species: * Long-footed rat (''Tarsomys apoensis'') * Spiny long-footed rat The spiny long-footed rat (''Tarsomys ech ...

'', ''

Bullimus ''Bullimus'' is a genus of rodent from the Philippines, as first catalogued by Mearns, in 1905. Species Genus ''Bullimus'' * Bagobo rat, ''Bullimus bagobus'', Mindanao * Carleton's forest rat, ''Bullimus carletoni'', Luzon - Described in 2021. * ...

'', ''

Apomys ''Apomys'', commonly known as earthworm mice, is a genus of rodent endemic to the Philippines. Mice belonging to this genus are generally called Philippine forest mice and can be found on most islands of the Philippines except in Palawan, the Su ...

'', ''

Millardia ''Millardia'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae native to South Asia and Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although ...

'', ''

Srilankamys The Ohiya rat (''Srilankamys ohiensis''), or Sri Lanka bi-colored rat, is a species of rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing inciso ...

'', ''

Niviventer ''Niviventer'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Southeast Asia. It contains the following species: * Anderson's white-bellied rat, ''Niviventer andersoni'' * Brahma white-bellied rat, ''Niviventer brahma'' * '' Niviventer ...

'', '' Maxomys'', ''

Leopoldamys ''Leopoldamys'' is a genus of rodents in the family Muridae endemic to Southeast Asia. It contains the following species: * Sundaic mountain long-tailed giant rat (''Leopoldamys ciliatus'') * '' Leopoldamys diwangkarai'' * Edwards's long-taile ...

'', '' Berylmys'', '' Mastomys'', ''

Myomys Verreaux's mouse or Verreaux's white-footed rat (''Myomyscus verreauxii'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is the only member of the genus ''Myomyscus''. Other species that had been previously assigned to ''Myomyscus'' are now co ...

'', '' Praomys'', ''

Hylomyscus ''Hylomyscus'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square&nbs ...

'', '' Heimyscus'', ''

Stochomys The target rat (''Stochomys longicaudatus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is the monotypic, only species in the genus ''Stochomys''. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. Description The targe ...

'', ''

Dephomys ''Dephomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae endemic to Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square m ...

'' and '' Aethomys''. The genus ''Rattus'' proper contains 64 extant species. A subgeneric breakdown of the species has been proposed, but does not include all species.

Species

Phylogeny

The following phylogeny of selected ''Rattus'' species is from Pagès, et al. (2010).

References

{{Authority control . Rodent genera Taxa named by Gotthelf Fischer von Waldheim Extant Pleistocene first appearances