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A pack rat or packrat, also called a woodrat or trade rat, are any species in the North and Central American rodent genus Neotoma. Pack rats have a rat-like appearance, with long tails, large ears, and large, black eyes. Pack rats are noticeably larger than deer mice, harvest mice, and grasshopper mice, and are usually somewhat larger than ...
Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size. Usually the common name of a large muroid rodent will include the word "rat", while a smaller muroid's name will include "mouse". The common terms rat and mouse are not taxonomically specific. There are 56 known species of rats in the world. [1]
The New World rats and mice are often considered part of a single subfamily, Sigmodontinae, but the recent trend among muroid taxonomists is to recognize three separate subfamilies. This strategy better represents the extreme diversity of species numbers and ecological types.
These rats form small colonies with nesting areas, a network of underground runways and many conspicuous latrines. Latrines are large fecal piles the rats deposit on protected flat rocks. [ 6 ] In some cases, researchers have found dried leaves placed around the nesting area which appear to act as alarms to warn the rats of approaching danger.
The Natal multimammate mouse (Mastomys natalensis) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is also known as the Natal multimammate rat, the common African rat, or the African soft-furred mouse. [1] The Natal multimammate rat is the natural host of the Lassa fever virus.
The southern multimammate rat is currently being bred in the US and Canada as a pet, and as a replacement food source for reptiles, replacing the brown rat as a viable food source for picky eaters. It is also recognized as one of the natural food sources for ball pythons. They are also being used for stomach cancer research, among other ailments.
The name combines the Greek oryza "rice" and mys "mouse" and refers to the rat's habit of eating rice. [21] At the time, Oryzomys was recognized either as a full genus or as a subgenus of the now-defunct genus Hesperomys , [ 22 ] but since the 1890s, it has been universally recognized as a genus distinct from Hesperomys , with the marsh rice ...
Despite this, free-living populations of rats and mice do exist together in forest areas in New Zealand, North America, and elsewhere. House mice are generally poor competitors and in most areas cannot survive away from human settlements in areas where other small mammals, such as wood mice , are present. [ 26 ]