Pale field rat
Rattus tunneyi (Thomas, 1904)
The pale field rat (Rattus tunneyi) is a species in the family Muridae, order Rodentia. Recorded adults weigh 124 g to 141.4 g and live up to 1 year. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the pale field rat
- Weight
- 124 g – 141.4 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 1 yearsrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 22.1 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 5.55src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 3.22 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Where does the pale field rat live?
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.
The pale field rat is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the pale field rat?
The pale field rat (Rattus tunneyi) is a small rat endemic to Australia. It is a nocturnal and herbivorous rodent that resides throughout the day in shallow burrows made in loose sand. Once widespread, its range has become greatly reduced and it is restricted to the grasslands, sedges, and cane-fields at the north and east of the continent. Its fur is an attractive yellow-brown colour, with grey or cream at the underside. This medium-sized rat has a tail shorter than its body.
From the Wikipedia article “Pale field rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pale_field_rat&oldid=1384141165), 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 pale field rat endangered?
The pale field rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- 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 Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the pale field rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyMuridae
- genusRattus
- SpeciesRattus tunneyi (Thomas, 1904)
Synonyms Mus culmorum, Mus tunneyi, Mus woodwardi, Rattus culmorum apex, Rattus culmorum austrinus, Rattus culmorum vallesius, Rattus melvilleus, Rattus tunneyi dispar
Other names and names in other languages (10)
- Australian pale field ratEnglish
- Australian pale field ratEnglish
- جرذ الحقل الشاحبArabic
- krysa TunneyovaCzech
- Blasse FeldratteGerman
- Blasse Australische FeldratteGerman
- australianrottaFinnish
- タンネイクマネズミJapanese
- szczur bladyPolish
- Бледная полевая крысаRussian
Relatives of the pale field 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
ComparePale field rat vs Brown ratPale field rat vs Black ratPale field rat vs Polynesian ratPale field rat vs Ricefield rat
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the pale field rat?
An adult pale field rat weighs 124 g – 141.4 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the pale field rat live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the pale field rat for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the pale field rat endangered?
The pale field rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the pale field rat live?
The pale field rat has a recorded lifespan of 1 year.
How long is the pale field rat pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 22.1 days.
What kind of animal is the pale field rat?
The pale field rat (Rattus tunneyi) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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). Pale field rat (Rattus tunneyi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/pale-field-rat
“Pale field rat (Rattus tunneyi).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/pale-field-rat.
@misc{pale_field_rat_2026,
title = {Pale field rat (Rattus tunneyi)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/pale-field-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}