The black rat (Rattus rattus) is a common long-tailed rodent of the genus Rattus (rats) in the subfamily Murinae (murine rodents). The species originated in tropical Asia and spread through the Near East in Roman times before reaching Europe by the 1st century and spreading with Europeans across the world.
Read more about Black Rat: Taxonomy, Description, Origin of Rattus Rattus, Diet, Distribution and Habitat, Home Range, Behavior, Ecology, Predators and Parasites, Control Methods, Endangerment and Conservation
Famous quotes containing the words black and/or rat:
“We have what I would call educational genocide. I’m concerned about learning totally, but I’m immersed in the disastrous record of how many black kids are going into science. They are very few and far between. I’ve said that when I see more black students in the laboratories than I see on the football field, I’ll be happy.”
—Jewel Plummer Cobb (b. 1924)
“A rat eats, then leaves its droppings.”
—Hawaiian saying no. 85, ‘lelo No’Eau, collected, translated, and annotated by Mary Kawena Pukui, Bishop Museum Press, Hawaii (1983)