606 MURIDAS—EPIMYS 
1778. MUS DECUMANUS, P. S. Pallas, Mov. Spec. Quad. e. Glir., 91 ; described from 
Europe ; of Gmelin and most subsequent authors. 
1779. M(US) SURMOLOTTUS, Severinus, Zentamen Zool. Hungarice, 73; described 
from Central Europe. 
1800. M(US) D(ECUMANUS) HYBRIDES, J. M. Bechstein, Pennan?s Allgem. 
Uebersicht d. vierftiss. Thiere, ii.. 713; described on p. 497; based upon a 
melanistic specimen for Waltershausen, Germany. 
1800. MUS AMPHIBIUS, J. Landt, Forség “/ en Beskrivelse over Farverne, Kjoben- 
havn, p. 238; Fzeroes. 
1808. MUS FOSSOR, Walker, /ssays, 497. 
1816. Mus caspPIus, Oken., Lehrd. d. Naturgesch., iii., pt. 2, 895; an alternative for 
decumanus. 
1837. MUS HIBERNICUS, W. Thompson, Proc, Zool. Soc., London, 52; based upon 
melanistic specimens from Rathfriland, Co. Down, Ireland, Vat, Hist. lreland, 
iv., 16, 1856. 
1908. EPIMYS NORWEGICUS, Satunin, A/z¢th. Kauk. Mus., Tiflis, iv., Lief. 1-2, 111. 
1910. MUS (EPIMYS) NORVEGICUS and M. (E.) NORVEGICUS HIBERNICUS, E. L. 
Trouessart, Faune Mamm. a’ Europe, 142. 
1912. EPIMYS NORVEGICUS, G. S. Miller, Cat, Mamm. West. Europe, 858. 
Le surmulot of the French (vat being the generic name); de 
Wanderratte of the Germans. 
The synonymy given above relates to the Brown or Common Rat in 
Europe. Specimens from other parts of the world, eg., India, have 
received further names, but these do not require consideration in the 
present work. Up to 1900 practically all writers used Pallas’s name 
decumanus (1778) for this species; but Rehn (oc. czt. supra) pointed out 
that Erxleben’s norvegicus (1777) must supersede decumanus. The 
name zorvegicus, however, dates from Berkenhout (1769), and since his 
description was based ostensibly on British specimens, the type 
locality is technically Britain and not Norway. As a name, zorvegicus 
is a complete misnomer, since the species is no more than a modern 
introduction in Norway, as also in Britain; moreover, many of the 
pre-Linnzan writers, such as Ray, used “ Mus norvegicus” (the spelling 
subject to variation) as the name of the Norwegian Lemming. Such 
objections, however, have no force technically, and on the ground of the 
rule of priority, applied only to Linnzan writings, zorvegicus must 
stand as the trivial name of the present species. 
Terminology :—This is the “ Norway Rat” of Pennant (S77¢. Zool., 
i, 115), Berkenhout (1769), Shaw, and Turton; the “ Brown Rat” of 
Pennant (Quad., ed. 3, 1793, ii, 178) and most subsequent writers, 
although some, like Bingley and Bell, retain “Norway Rat” as an 
alternative name. Other names, which are or have been occasionally 
used for it, are “Wharf Rat,’ “Barn Rat,” “House Rat,” “Gray 
Rat,” “Water Rat,’ and “Hanoverian Rat” (for origin of which 
last, see below under History). It is now generally known as the 
