A picture showing the spread regions of (Climbing) Black Mouse in the world.

Brief Information

This kind of rodents spread in south-east of Asia, from India to the Arabian Gulf and the Mediterranean until Europe during the Middle Ages, and then moved from Europe to invade America with the first exploration voyages, and that is why it is called the steamship rat. It has an extreme ability to climb and make a balance because its body is cylindrical and its tail is long. There are three sub-species under Rattus rattus:
Black rat
It spreads all over the world: 100-227 g in weight, the tail is long and thin (14-22 cm), which is longer than both the body and the head; the body is covered with hair, where there are three main colors:
Dark phase: the hair color in the back, abdomen, and sides is dark, as in R. rattus rattus L
Brown Phase: the color of the back is brown, and the color of the sides and abdomen is whitish or yellowish like R. rattus frugicorus Rafinesque. This kind spreads almost in the areas of spread of the Norwegian rat, but it is far from the coastal humid areas, so it is observed in dry areas and it prefers the roofs, upper floors of buildings, and grain stores; it has a climbing ability that enables it to escape from enemies, and therefore it is sometimes called roof rats, and in case of its spread in the fields, it prefers sites near trees to be used as a breeding place. This rat fundamentally, is herbivore. It is recorded in Egypt as a source of problems for citrus, pomegranate and palm trees, where it feeds on fruits, gnaws palm branches, and lives in stems. The climbing rat usually takes several wives with a high degree of fertility and the number of embryos is between 4-12 fetuses and 16 fetuses were found in rare cases depending on the availability of food. The period of sexual maturity is 68 days, and the pregnancy period is from 20-22 days. The female gives birth to 6-8 births during its lifetime and the average number of fetuses is 33 rats per female annually. It almost feeds on vegetables and fruits and lives in fruits gardens, palms, vegetables, and grains farms, and houses. It prefers high places, contrary to Norwegian Rat. Its burrow is less carefully built, not deep, and away from water. Its nests exist on roofs and trees.