Black Rat 



come across any undoubted specimens of the black rat living in 

 a wild state; they are said to have been fairly common here 

 before the brov^n rats follov^'ed them across the Atlantic. 



Young brown rats until they are nearly grown have rather 

 soft slate-coloured fur, sometimes quite dark, and thic together 

 with their slighter build causes them to be sometimes mistaken 

 for the black rat. 



Black Rat 



Mus rattus Linnaeus 



Length. 15 inches. 



Description. More slender, with more pointed head, larger ears, 

 and tail always as long or longer than the head and body. 

 Colour glossy bluish-black above, dark-gray beneath, a few 

 white hairs interspersed. Ears lighter coloured, nearly naked, 

 feet pale-brownish, tail sparsely haired, scales distinct. 



Range. Cosmopolitan. Introduced into America from the Old 

 World, but everywhere disappearing before the advance of 

 the Norway rat, so that it is now rare, with the exception 

 of a well-marked variety — the roof rat — which is well estab- 

 lished in the Southern States. 



The black rat, a much less aggressive and less troublesome 

 animal, was brought to America long before the Norway rat, but 

 upon the introduction of the latter it rapidly disappeared, being 

 apparently quite unable to cope with it, so that we now find 

 the black rat only at rare intervals in remote quarters where its 

 more powerful cousin has not yet established itself. The history 

 of this animal in America is but a repetition of its experience 

 elsewhere and in England to-day it is as scarce as in America. 



A variety of the black rat, native of Egypt and adjacent 

 countries, has been introduced into our Southern States where it 

 finds the climate congenial and where it is known as the roof 

 rat. Owing probably to a difference in habits, it does not come 

 into such direct competition with the Norway rat and succeeds 

 in holding its own. 



Varieties of the Black Rat 



I. Black Rat. Mus rattus Linnaeus. Description as above. 



144 



