Polynesian rat
Rattus exulans (Peale, 1848)
The polynesian rat (Rattus exulans), also called the Pacific rat or little rat, is a rodent in the family Muridae and subfamily Murinae. It is a small mammal with an adult body mass of 47 g and up to 60 g, and it is a nocturnal, terrestrial herbivore of forest habitats.
Quick facts about the polynesian rat
Gestation lasts 22 days, sexual maturity comes at 91 days, and females have 3.7 young per litter and 3.6 litters per year. Checklists record it in Australia, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 47.3 g – 60.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 3.91 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 21.8 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.67src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.98 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 3.64src for Litters or clutches a year
- 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
Photos of the polynesian rat
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the polynesian 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 polynesian rat is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the polynesian rat?
The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (Rattus exulans), or kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. Contrary to its vernacular name, the Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, and like its relatives has become widespread, migrating to most of Polynesia, including New Zealand, Easter Island, and Hawaii. It shares high adaptability with other rat species extending to many environments, from grasslands to forests. It is also closely associated with humans, who provide easy access to food. It has become a major pest in most areas of its distribution.
From the Wikipedia article “Polynesian rat” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polynesian_rat&oldid=1371090930), 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 polynesian rat endangered?
The polynesian 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.
How is the polynesian rat classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderRodentia
- familyMuridae
- genusRattus
- SpeciesRattus exulans (Peale, 1848)
Synonyms Epimys basilanus, Epimys calcis, Epimys exulans, Epimys leucophaetus, Epimys mayonicus, Epimys ornatulus, Epimys querceti, Epimys stragulum, Epimys vigoratus, Mus aemuli, Mus bocourti, Mus browni, Mus buruensis, Mus clabatus, Mus concolor, Mus ephippium, Mus ephippium negrinus, Mus exulans, Mus luteiventris, Mus obscurus, Mus pantarensis, Mus pullus, Mus surdus, Mus todayensis, Mus vulcani apicus, Mus wichmanni, Rattus concolor equile, Rattus concolor malengiensis, Rattus concolor meringgit, Rattus concolor otteni, Rattus concolor solatus, Rattus raveni, Rattus raveni eurous, Rattus schuitemakeri, Togomys melanoderma
Other names and names in other languages (29)
- Little ratEnglish
- Pacific ratEnglish
- Pacific ratEnglish
- Polynesian rat (kiore)English
- جرذ صغيرArabic
- جرذ باسيفيكيArabic
- جرذ المحيط الهادئArabic
- krysa ostrovníCzech
- Pazifische RatteGerman
- Kleine PazifikratteGerman
- Rata del PacíficoSpanish
- Rata de la PolinesiaSpanish
- polynesianrottaFinnish
- rat du PacifiqueFrench
- ʻIoleHawaiian
- Ratto polinesianoItalian
- ナンヨウネズミJapanese
- ポリネシアネズミJapanese
- 태평양쥐Korean
- HāmuaMāori
- KioreMāori
- MuritaiMāori
- PolynesiarotteNorwegian Bokmål
- Polynesische RatDutch
- Szczur pacyficznyPolish
- szczur polinezyjskiPolish
- Малая крысаRussian
- หนูจี๊ดThai
- 緬甸小鼠Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the polynesian rat
Other species in the same genus Rattus.
Brown rat
Rattus norvegicus
Black rat
Rattus rattus
Ricefield rat
Rattus argentiventer
Summit rat
Rattus baluensis
Bush rat
Rattus fuscipes
Tanezumi rat
Rattus tanezumi
ComparePolynesian rat vs Brown ratPolynesian rat vs Black ratPolynesian rat vs Ricefield ratPolynesian rat vs Summit rat
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the polynesian rat?
The polynesian rat is a rodent, a mammal in the family Muridae and genus Rattus.
How heavy is the polynesian rat?
An adult Polynesian rat has a body mass of 47 g, with values up to 60 g reported, placing it in the small size class.
What does the polynesian rat eat?
The polynesian rat is a herbivore.
Is the polynesian rat endangered?
No. The polynesian rat is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the polynesian rat live?
The polynesian rat has a lifespan of 3.9 years.
How many young does the polynesian rat have?
The polynesian rat has 3.7 young per litter and 3.6 litters per year, after a gestation of 22 days.
Which countries is the polynesian rat recorded in?
Checklists record the polynesian rat in Australia.
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). Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/polynesian-rat
“Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/polynesian-rat.
@misc{polynesian_rat_2026,
title = {Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/polynesian-rat},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}