224 



MAMMALS OF AMERICA 



established themselves about the wharf and 

 stores at Sunrise." 



The Black Rat seems to have been the first of . 

 the foreign Rats to take up its abode among 

 us. Of Oriental origin, it made its way into 

 Europe and was thence conveyed to Spanish 

 America, probably in the sixteenth century. It 

 spread northward ; but with the introduction of 

 the Norway Rat, the black species was gradu- 

 ally driven out by its more savage relative. It 

 is still numerous in the West Indies and in 

 Central and South America. This species does 

 not burrow under foundations as the Brown Rat 

 does. It breeds three or four times a year, and 

 there are usually five or six young in a litter. 



upper ])arts, and its abdomen and feet are of a 

 yellowish-white. Like the Brown Rat it is a 

 wharf Rat, and is moreover a very good climber. 

 It is found on ships, and has obtained a footing 

 in some of the southern States. Two specimens 

 were caught on the Guadalupe river, at Ingram, 

 Texas, in 1902, whose presence in a place so 

 far in the interior is thus explained by Bailey : 

 " The Guadalupe river is subject to violent 

 floods, sometimes rising suddenly to fifty feet 

 above low water. The enormous heaps of driti 

 rubbish deposited along the bottom and in the 

 branches of trees have evidently furnished a 

 highway for the distribution of the Rats from 

 the coast up the river. The two individuals 



By permission of U. S. Biographical Survey 



BLACK RAT 



A sketch showing the powerful neck and head, and other distinguishing marks of this 



unwelcome immigrant 



The tame White Rats which children keep as 

 pets are a variant of this species. 



The Roof Rat originally came from Alexan- 

 dria, Egypt, or the neighboring countries. It 

 resembles the Brown Rat, but is grayer in the 



secured were living in these drift heaps. One 

 was caught on the ground at the edge of a drift 

 heap ; the other, on a pole reaching across from 

 one heap to another." 



Albert Porter. 



EASTERN WOOD RAT 

 Neotoma floridana {Ord) 



Other Names.— Pack Rat, Trade Rat, Brush Rat. 



General Description. — About the size of the House 

 Rat but with a more hairv tail. Head pointed; eyes 

 and ears large ; ears thinly haired ; whiskers very long ; 

 body only moderately thick set; tail long, about half 

 of total length, well clothed with short hair ; legs fairly 

 long, slender ; general color above plumbeous, below 

 white; hair rather long. Of nocturnal habit but often 

 seen in the daytime as well; of inquisitive t' mperament. 



Dental Formula. — Incisors, ^ ; Canines, ^--^ ; Pre- 

 molars. ^; Molars, ^=^(>- 



Pelage. — Adults: Sexes identical. Seasonal varia- 

 tion slight. Above, plumbeous or slaty-black, darkest 

 on dorsal region, mixed with dark-brown and pale 

 yellowish-brown, the latter predominating on flanks ; 

 feet and underparts clear white; tail above dusky, 

 below white, sharply bicolor ; tail well haired but not 



