# Brown rat (*Rattus norvegicus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-rat  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) is a rodent in the family Muridae and subfamily Murinae, within the order Rodentia of the class Mammalia. It is a small, terrestrial, nocturnal herbivore, with an adult body mass from 280 g to 560 g and a representative value of 338 g, and its listed habitat is shrubland. Gestation lasts 21.61 days, litters average 8.9 young, there are 3.7 litters per year, and sexual maturity comes at 74 days. The brown rat is assessed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and checklists record it in Australia.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 280 g – 560 g |
| Length | up to 28 cm |
| Lifespan | 5 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | shrubland |
| Gestation | 21.6 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 8.86 |
| Age at maturity | 70 days – 78.8 days |
| Litters or clutches a year | 3.68 |
| Active | At night (nocturnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Rodentia
- family: Muridae
- genus: Rattus
- species: *Rattus norvegicus* (Berkenhout, 1769)

Synonyms: *Epimys norvegicus*, *Epimys norvegicus*, *Epimys norvegicus caraco*, *Epimys norvegicus socer*, *Mus aquaticus*, *Mus caraco*, *Mus caspius*, *Mus decumanoides*, *Mus decumanus*, *Mus decumanus hybridus*, *Mus decumanus major*, *Mus griseipectus*, *Mus hibernicus*, *Mus humiliatus*, *Mus javanus*, *Mus magnirostris*, *Mus maniculatus*, *Mus maurus*, *Mus norvegicus*, *Mus norvegicus praestans*, *Mus ouangthomae*, *Mus plumbeus*, *Mus surmolottus*, *Mus sylvaticus discolor*, *Rattus albinus*, *Rattus albus*, *Rattus aquaticus*, *Rattus caraco*, *Rattus caspius*, *Rattus decimallus*, *Rattus decumanus*, *Rattus humiliatus insolatus*, *Rattus humiliatus sowerbyi*, *Rattus norvegicus albus*, *Rattus norvegicus caraco*, *Rattus norvegicus norvegicus*, *Rattus norvegicus otomoi*, *Rattus norvegicus primarius*, *Rattus norvegicus suffureoventris*, *Rattus novergicus*, *Rattus rattoides insolatus*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Australia

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the brown rat?

The brown rat is a rodent, a mammal in the family Muridae. Other English names for it include lab rat, pet rat, wharf rat, Dumbo rat and fancy rat.

### How heavy is a brown rat?

An adult brown rat weighs from 280 g to 560 g, with a representative value of 338 g.

### What does the brown rat eat?

The brown rat is classed as a herbivore.

### Is the brown rat endangered?

No. The brown rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does a brown rat live?

The lifespan of the brown rat is listed as 5 years.

### How many young does a brown rat have?

A brown rat has 8.9 young per litter on average and 3.7 litters per year, after a gestation period of 21.61 days.

### Which countries is the brown rat recorded in?

Checklists record the brown rat in Australia.

### Who named the brown rat and when?

The scientific name Rattus norvegicus is credited to Berkenhout, 1769, written as (Berkenhout, 1769).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brown-rat