BLACK RAT Rattus rattus
The ubiquitous Black Rat has travelled the world with humans and gained notoriety for its role in the transmission of the Black Plague during the middle ages. As with the Brown Rat they are known to carry a variety of diseases that can be passed on to humans, yet despite constant persecution their adaptability has allowed them to colonise anywhere that humans call home. An omnivorous species, the Black Rat is able to tolerate long periods without water and is actually rather arboreal, climbing in trees at least as much as it runs on the ground.
Click on the images to enlarge them.
FIGURE 1 - (FPMAM586PH) Adult recently dead, PROCOSARA, PN San Rafael (Karina Atkinson October 2008).
FIGURE 2 - (FPMAM587PH) Same individual head detail (Karina Atkinson October 2008).
FIGURE 3 - (FPMAM588PH) Juvenile, Estancia Laguna Blanca, Departamento San Pedro (Paul Smith November 2005).
FIGURE 4 - (FPMAM589PH) Same individual underside (Paul Smith November 2005).
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Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith and Karina Atkinson and are used with permission.
