black rats
Plague-carrying rodents
Black rats are a species of rodent (*Rattus rattus*) also called ship rats or roof rats, distinguished from the larger brown rat by their darker color, longer tails, and preference for high places.
They spread worldwide via sailing ships and carried the fleas that transmitted bubonic plague across medieval Europe.
The attic was infested with black rats.
- pestHarmful creature or nag
- rodentsGnawing mammal order
- port citiesTowns with maritime harbors
- bubonic plagueYersinia pestis infection
- murineRelating to mice
infestation · vermin · food contamination · long tails · nocturnal feeders · invasive species · species · urban wildlife · introduced species · grain storage · scavenger · mammal · commensal · omnivore · gnawing · nest building · vertebrate · sanitation practices
- rodentsmouse, guinea pig, squirrel, mice, beaver
black ratsbrown rats
Common commensal rodent species
sewer rats · common rats · wharf rats · laboratory rats · fancy rats
black ratsbeneficial insects
Arthropods aiding agriculture
fancy rats · pollinators · laboratory rats · barn owls · rat snakes
black, blacks, blacker, blackest, blacken, blackened, blackening, blackness, blackish