# Polynesian rat (*Rattus exulans*)

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

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 47.3 g – 60.3 g |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 3.91 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Gestation | 21.8 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.67 |
| Age at maturity | 2.98 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 3.64 |
| 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 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*

## 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 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

- [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: Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/polynesian-rat