Upper Toothrows of Extinct Giant Rat and Black Rat (IMAGE)

CSIRO Australia

Upper Toothrows of Extinct Giant Rat and Black Rat

Caption

Upper toothrows of Timor's extinct giant rat (left), the biggest rat that ever lived, compared with the skull of a black rat (right). The black rat (Rattus rattus) is one of the world's most common rat species. It is also known as the house, roof or ship rat and is found throughout Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and the Americas. A typical adult weighs about 150 grams. The skull of the black rat shown here is 35 mm long.

Credit

Ken Aplin, CSIRO

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