NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



a disused coal-pit, being attacked by a swarm of 

 rats and devoured. 



The Brown Rat may be distinguished from its 

 cousin the Black Rat in the following ways : 



(i) Colour greyish-brown, often with a slight 

 reddish hue on the back. 



(2) Head and body of an adult about 12 inches 

 in length. Tail usually shorter than the head and 

 body, but sometimes about the same length. 



The Brown Rat often breeds with the Black Rat 

 and produces progeny which vary a good deal in 

 coloration, length of tail, size of ears, and blunt- 

 ness, or otherwise, of snout. This I observed 

 frequently in Natal and at Port Elizabeth. Some 

 of these rats were of the typical greyish-brown of 

 the Brown Rat, but their tails were longer than the 

 total length of head and body. Others were 

 brownish-black in colour, with tapering noses and 

 large ears, but their tails were shorter instead of 

 being longer than the head and body, as in the 

 typical Black Rat. 



THE BLACK RAT 



(Rattus rattus) 



The Black Rat was common throughout Europe 

 long before the advent of the Brown Rat, as it was 

 known there as far back as the thirteenth century. 

 From Europe it was carried in ships to practically 

 every part of the world. 



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