Rat

Rat

Rattus rattus

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Rodentia

Family: Muridae

A rat is a small omnivorous rodent of the genus Rattus. Rats are mammals somewhat bigger than their relatives the mice, but seldom weighing over 300 grams.

Well-known species of rat are the Brown Rat, Rattus norvegicus; the Black Rat, Rattus rattus; the Rice Rat, Rattus argentiventer, and the Indian Mole Rat, Bandicota bengalensis.

These four common varieties of rat often live with and near humans, share their food and spread disease. The Black Plague is believed to have been spread by rat-borne parasites. Rats are also blamed for damaging food supplies and other goods. They have a very poor reputation; "rat" is an insult and "to rat on someone" is to betray them by denouncing a crime or misdeed they committed to the authorities.

Many other species of rat exist, including the wood or pack rats, the Polynesian Rat and a number of species loosely called kangaroo rats.

Rats might eat each other in stressful environments or when the number of rats in a space is very high, but cannibalism to prevent diseases from spreading is normal, where dead rats are eaten before they start spreading diseases.

Table of contents

1 Rats in the Laboratory
2 Rats as pets
3 Rats in Culture
4 Further Reading

Rats in the Laboratory

Like mice, rats (especially albino rattus norvegicus) are frequently subjects of medical, psychological and other biological experiments. This is because they grow quickly to sexual maturity and because they are easy to keep and to breed in captivity. Scientists have bred many strains or "lines" of rats specifically for experimentation. Generally, these lines are not transgenic, however, because the easy techniques of genetic transformation that work in mice do not work for rats. This has disadvantaged many investigators, who regard many aspects of behavior and physiology in rats as more relevant to humans and easier to observe than in mice, but who wish to trace their observations to underlying genes. As a result, many have been forced to study questions in mice that might be better pursued in rats. In October 2003, however, researchers succeeded in cloning two laboratory rats by the problematic technique of nuclear transfer. So rats may begin to see more use as genetic research subjects.

Rats as pets

In Western countries, many people keep domestic rats as pets. Descendants of rats bred for research, these animals also are called "fancy rats", "coloured rats" or "colour rats." Rat fanciers have developed many exotic varieties. Besides ones with unusual colouring, there have been rats bred that have bigger ears, no fur, no tails and oversized hind legs. Domesticated rats tend to be both more docile than their wild ancestors and more disease prone, presumably due to inbreeding.

Fancy Rats have been exhibited in Britain for almost a hundred years. The originator of the first true domestic rats was Jack Black, official Rat Catcher and Mole Destroyer by appointment to Queen Victoria. His rats were bred from rattus norvegicus stock. Pet rats became very popular in the 1970s when the National Fancy Rat Society was founded. Other rat societies have since sprung up in other countries as pet rats have gained in popularity worldwide.

Pet rats live to around 2-3 years of age. Adult bucks weigh around 500g and adult does around 300g. Rats are naturally social animals, and, as pets, are much happier when kept in single sex pairs rather than on their own. Both bucks and does make good pets.

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Rats in Culture

In imperial Chinese culture, the rat (sometimes referred to as a mouse) is the first of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac. Consequently every twelfth year is known as a "year of the rat" in the Chinese calendar. People born in such years are expected to possess qualities associated with rats. These include creativity, honesty, generosity, ambition, a quick temper and wastefulness. "Rats" (i.e. people born in a year of the rat) are said to get along well with "monkeys" and "dragons," and to get along poorly with "horses."