# Bush rat (*Rattus fuscipes*)

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

The bush rat (Rattus fuscipes) is a species in the family Muridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 127.3 g to 133 g and live up to 3.42 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 127.3 g – 133 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 3.42 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 5.3 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 26 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 4.58 – 5 |
| Age at maturity | 2.96 months – 3.51 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 3.3 |
| 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 fuscipes* (Waterhouse, 1839)

Synonyms: *Mus assimilis*, *Mus fuscipes*, *Mus greyii*, *Mus manicatus*, *Mus murrayi*, *Rattus assimilis coracius*, *Rattus glauerti*, *Rattus greyi peccatus*, *Rattus greyi pelori*, *Rattus greyi ravus*

## 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

### How big is the bush rat?

An adult bush rat weighs 127.3 g – 133 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Where does the bush rat live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the bush rat for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

### Is the bush rat endangered?

The bush rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

### How long does the bush rat live?

The bush rat has a recorded lifespan of 3.42 years.

### How long is the bush rat pregnant?

The recorded gestation period is 26 days.

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

The bush rat (Rattus fuscipes) belongs to the family Muridae in the order Rodentia.

## 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: Bush rat (Rattus fuscipes). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/bush-rat