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Species
Rattus exulans (Peale 1848)
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
Global Range: Native to southeastern Asia, west to eastern Bangladesh, and many islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean (Roberts 1991; Musser and Carleton, in Wilson and Reeder 2005); most Pacific insular occurrences result from inadvertent or intentional introduction or possibly natural rafting (Musser and Carleton, in Wilson and Reeder 2005). Hawaii: Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Maui, Kahoolawe, Hawaii, Kure Atoll, Popoia, Mokumanu, Kaula; Niihau?
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Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Rattus+exulans |
Polynesian rats (Rattus exulans) have an extensive distribution from Southeast Asia and New Guinea through the Pacific. They spread to several thousands islands in the western and central Pacific Ocean through the colonizing efforts of the Polynesian people. The rats were carried along on the large sea-going canoes with pigs, dogs and jungle cocks.
Biogeographic Regions: palearctic (Introduced , Native ); oriental (Introduced , Native ); australian (Introduced ); oceanic islands (Introduced )
- Tobin, M. 1994. Polynesian Rats. Prevention and Control of Wildlife Damage: 121-124.
- Walton, D., J. Brooks, K. Thinn, U. Tun. 1980. Reproduction in Rattus exulans in Rangoon, Berma. Mammalia, 44/3: 349-360.
- Dwyer, P. 1978. A study of Rattus exulans in the New Guinea highlands. Australian Wildlife Research, 5/2: 221-248.
- Masaharu, M., L. Kau-Hung, H. Masashi, L. Liang-Kong. 2001. New records of Polynesial Rat Rattus exulans (Mammalia:Rodentia) from Taiwan and the Ryukyus. Zoological Studies, 40/4: 299-304.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1995-2013, The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors |
Source | http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Rattus_exulans/ |
occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Rattus+exulans |
Type for Rattus exulans
Catalog Number: USNM 144637
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Mammals
Sex/Stage: Male; Adult
Preparation: Skin; Skull
Collector(s): E. Mearns
Year Collected: 1906
Locality: Mount Halcon, spur of main ridge, Mindoro, Mindoro Oriental Province, Philippines, Asia
Elevation (m): 1372
- Type: Hollister, N. 1913 Dec 31. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 46: 321.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. |
Source | http://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/mammals/?irn=7252078 |
Rattus exulans is prey of:
Tyto alba
Herpestes javanicus
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 16, 2011 at http://animaldiversity.org. http://www.animaldiversity.org
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Conservation Actions
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources |
Source | http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/19330 |
Canada
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Unknown
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Rattus+exulans |
Type for Rattus exulans
Catalog Number: USNM 239245
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Mammals
Sex/Stage: Female; Adult
Preparation: Skin; Skull
Collector(s): R. McGregor & A. Celestino
Year Collected: 1903
Locality: Cagayancillo, Cagayan Island, Palawan Province, Philippines, Asia
- Type: Hollister, N. 1913 Dec 31. Proceedings of the United States National Museum. 46: 322.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This image was obtained from the Smithsonian Institution. Unless otherwise noted, this image or its contents may be protected by international copyright laws. |
Source | http://collections.mnh.si.edu/search/mammals/?irn=7283488 |
Rattus exulans preys on:
non-insect arthropods
Annelida
Arthropoda
Insecta
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
- Myers, P., R. Espinosa, C. S. Parr, T. Jones, G. S. Hammond, and T. A. Dewey. 2006. The Animal Diversity Web (online). Accessed February 16, 2011 at http://animaldiversity.org. http://www.animaldiversity.org
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Cynthia Sims Parr, Joel Sachs, SPIRE |
Source | http://spire.umbc.edu/fwc/ |
Management Requirements: As in other RATTUS and MUS, few individuals living in cane fields survive harvest operations and escape to adjacent areas; however, ravine populations serve as source for recolonization of cane fields with new crop (Tomich 1970).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Rattus+exulans |