Nonsense rat
Rattus burrus (Miller, 1902)
The nonsense rat (Rattus burrus) is a species in the family Muridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh about 152.3 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.
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Quick facts about the nonsense rat
- Weight
- 152.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the nonsense rat live?
Not recorded
What is the nonsense rat?
The nonsense rat, Nicobar Archipelago rat or Miller's Nicobar rat (Rattus burrus) is endemic to the Nicobar Islands in India. It lives on Great Nicobar, Little Nicobar, and Trinket islands. On Car Nicobar Island, Rattus palmarum and Rattus andamanensis live instead.
The species was first described in 1902 by Miller, who placed it in the genus Mus. Today it is classified in the genus Rattus. The origin of the name "nonsense rat" is uncertain, as Miller did not provide a common name in his original description. More recent sources, such as the IUCN, include it.
From the Wikipedia article “Nonsense rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nonsense_rat&oldid=1383352850), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the nonsense rat endangered?
The nonsense rat is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species. What the categories mean.
How is the nonsense rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyMuridae
- genusRattus
- SpeciesRattus burrus (Miller, 1902)
Synonyms Mus burrescens, Mus burrus
Other names and names in other languages (10)
- Miller's Nicobar ratEnglish
- Miller’s Nicobar ratEnglish
- Miller’s Nicobar ratEnglish
- Nicobar Archipelago ratEnglish
- Nicobar Archipelago ratEnglish
- trinkatinrottaFinnish
- ニコバルクマネズミJapanese
- szczur nikobarskiPolish
- Никобарская крысаRussian
- மில்லரின் நிக்கோபார் எலிTamil
Relatives of the nonsense rat
Other species in the same genus Rattus.
Brown rat
Rattus norvegicus
Black rat
Rattus rattus
Polynesian rat
Rattus exulans
Ricefield rat
Rattus argentiventer
Summit rat
Rattus baluensis
Bush rat
Rattus fuscipes
CompareNonsense rat vs Brown ratNonsense rat vs Black ratNonsense rat vs Polynesian ratNonsense rat vs Ricefield rat
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the nonsense rat?
An adult nonsense rat weighs 152.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the nonsense rat endangered?
The nonsense rat is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
What kind of animal is the nonsense rat?
The nonsense rat (Rattus burrus) belongs to the family Muridae in the order Rodentia.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · 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 - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Nonsense rat (Rattus burrus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/nonsense-rat
“Nonsense rat (Rattus burrus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/nonsense-rat.
@misc{nonsense_rat_2026,
title = {Nonsense rat (Rattus burrus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/nonsense-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}