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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Rat (disambiguation).

"Rats" redirects here. For "The Rats", see The Rats (disambiguation).
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Rats
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 Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Scienti c classi cation

Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Mirorder: Simplicidentata
Order: Rodentia
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found
throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus
Rattus. Other rat genera include Neotoma (pack rats), Bandicota (bandicoot
rats) and Dipodomys (kangaroo rats).
Rats are typically distinguished from mice by their size. Usually the common
name of a large muroid rodent will include the word "rat", while a smaller
muroid's name will include "mouse". The common terms rat and mouse are
not taxonomically speci c. There are 56 known species of rats in the world.[1]

Species and description

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A rat in a suburb of Vancouver

Skeleton of a black rat (Rattus rattus) on display at the Museum of Osteology.

The best-known rat species are the black rat (Rattus rattus) and the brown rat
(Rattus norvegicus). This group, generally known as the Old World rats or
true rats, originated in Asia. Rats are bigger than most Old World mice, which
are their relatives, but seldom weigh over 500 grams (17
+
1⁄2 oz) in the wild.[2]

The term rat is also used in the names of other small mammals that are not
true rats. Examples include the North American pack rats (aka wood rats[3])
and a number of species loosely called kangaroo rats.[3] Rats such as the
bandicoot rat (Bandicota bengalensis) are murine rodents related to true rats
but are not members of the genus Rattus.
Male rats are called bucks; unmated females, does, pregnant or parent
females, dams; and infants, kittens or pups. A group of rats is referred to as a
mischief.[4]
The common species are opportunistic survivors and often live with and near
humans; therefore, they are known as commensals. They may cause
substantial food losses, especially in developing countries.[5] However, the
widely distributed and problematic commensal species of rats are a minority
in this diverse genus. Many species of rats are island endemics, some of
which have become endangered due to habitat loss or competition with the
brown, black, or Polynesian rat.[6]
Wild rodents, including rats, can carry many different zoonotic pathogens,
such as Leptospira, Toxoplasma gondii, and Campylobacter.[7] The Black
Death is traditionally believed to have been caused by the microorganism
Yersinia pestis, carried by the tropical rat ea (Xenopsylla cheopis), which
preyed on black rats living in European cities during the epidemic outbreaks
of the Middle Ages; these rats were used as transport hosts. Another zoonotic
disease linked to the rat is foot-and-mouth disease.[8]
Rats become sexually mature at age 6 weeks, but reach social maturity at
about 5 to 6 months of age. The average lifespan of rats varies by species,
but many only live about a year due to predation.[9]
The black and brown rats diverged from other Old World rats in the forests of
Asia during the beginning of the Pleistocene.[10]

Rat tails

A rat in a city street

The characteristic long tail of most rodents is a feature that has been
extensively studied in various rat species models, which suggest three
primary functions of this structure: thermoregulation,[11] minor proprioception,
and a nocifensive-mediated degloving response.[12] Rodent tails—particularly
in rat models—have been implicated with a thermoregulation function that
follows from its anatomical construction. This particular tail morphology is
evident across the family Muridae, in contrast to the bushier tails of Sciuridae,
the squirrel family. The tail is hairless and thin skinned but highly
vascularized, thus allowing for ef cient countercurrent heat exchange with the
environment. The high muscular and connective tissue densities of the tail,
along with ample muscle attachment sites along its plentiful caudal vertebrae,
facilitate speci c proprioceptive senses to help orient the rodent in a three-
dimensional environment.[citation needed] Murids have evolved a unique defense
mechanism termed degloving that allows for escape from predation through
the loss of the outermost integumentary layer on the tail. However, this
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 mechanism is associated with multiple pathologies that have been the subject
of investigation.[citation needed]

Microscopic cross section of Rattus rattus tail, delineating tendon bundles, vasculature,
and vertebral canal.
Multiple studies have explored the thermoregulatory capacity of rodent tails
by subjecting test organisms to varying levels of physical activity and
quantifying heat conduction via the animals' tails. One study demonstrated a
signi cant disparity in heat dissipation from a rat's tail relative to its abdomen.
[13] This observation was attributed to the higher proportion of vascularity in

the tail, as well as its higher surface-area-to-volume ratio, which directly

relates to heat's ability to dissipate via the skin. These ndings were
con rmed in a separate study analyzing the relationships of heat storage and
mechanical ef ciency in rodents that exercise in warm environments. In this
study, the tail was a focal point in measuring heat accumulation and
modulation.[citation needed]
On the other hand, the tail's ability to function as a proprioceptive sensor and
modulator has also been investigated. As aforementioned, the tail
demonstrates a high degree of muscularization and subsequent innervation
that ostensibly collaborate in orienting the organism.[14] Speci cally, this is
accomplished by coordinated exion and extension of tail muscles to produce
slight shifts in the organism's center of mass, orientation, etc., which
ultimately assists it with achieving a state of proprioceptive balance in its
environment. Further mechanobiological investigations of the constituent
tendons in the tail of the rat have identi ed multiple factors that in uence how
the organism navigates its environment with this structure. A particular
example is that of a study in which the morphology of these tendons is
explicated in detail.[15] Namely, cell viability tests of tendons of the rat's tail
demonstrate a higher proportion of living broblasts that produce the collagen
for these bers. As in humans, these tendons contain a high density of golgi
tendon organs that help the animal assess stretching of muscle in situ and
adjust accordingly by relaying the information to higher cortical areas
associated with balance, proprioception, and movement.[citation needed]
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The characteristic tail of murids also displays a unique defense mechanism
known as degloving in which the outer layer of the integument can be
detached in order to facilitate the animal's escape from a predator. This
evolutionary selective pressure has persisted despite a multitude of
pathologies that can manifest upon shedding part of the tail and exposing
more interior elements to the environment.[16] Paramount among these are
bacterial and viral infection, as the high density of vascular tissue within the
tail becomes exposed upon avulsion or similar injury to the structure. The
degloving response is a nocifensive response, meaning that it occurs when
the animal is subjected to acute pain, such as when a predator snatches the
organism by the tail.[citation needed]

As pets

Main article: Fancy rat

A domesticated rat
Specially bred rats have been kept as pets at least since the late 19th
century. Pet rats are typically variants of the species brown rat, but black rats
and giant pouched rats are also sometimes kept. Pet rats behave differently
from their wild counterparts depending on how many generations they have
been kept as pets.[17] Pet rats do not pose any more of a health risk than pets
such as cats or dogs.[18] Tamed rats are generally friendly and can be taught
to perform selected behaviors.
Selective breeding has brought about different color and marking varieties in
rats. Genetic mutations have also created different fur types, such as rex and
hairless. Congenital malformation in selective breeding have created the
dumbo rat, a popular pet choice due to their low, saucer-shaped ears.[19] A
breeding standard exists for rat fanciers wishing to breed and show their rat
at a rat show.[20]

As subjects for scientific research

 Main article: Laboratory rat

A laboratory rat strain, known as a Zucker rat, bred to be genetically prone to diabetes,
a metabolic disorder also found among humans.
In 1895, Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, established a
population of domestic albino brown rats to study the effects of diet and for
other physiological studies.[citation needed] Over the years, rats have been used in
many experimental studies, adding to our understanding of genetics,
diseases, the effects of drugs, and other topics that have provided a great
bene t for the health and wellbeing of humankind.[citation needed]
The aortic arches of the rat are among the most commonly studied in murine
models due to marked anatomical homology to the human cardiovascular
system.[21] Both rat and human aortic arches exhibit subsequent branching of
the brachiocephalic trunk, left common carotid artery, and left subclavian
artery, as well as geometrically similar, nonplanar curvature in the aortic
branches.[21] Aortic arches studied in rats exhibit abnormalities similar to those
of humans, including altered pulmonary arteries and double or absent aortic
arches.[22] Despite existing anatomical analogy in the inthrathoracic position of
the heart itself, the murine model of the heart and its structures remains a
valuable tool for studies of human cardiovascular conditions.[23]
The rat's larynx has been used in experimentations that involve inhalation
toxicity, allograft rejection, and irradiation responses. One experiment
described four features of the rat's larynx. The rst being the location and
attachments of the thyroarytenoid muscle, the alar cricoarytenoid muscle, and
the superior cricoarytenoid muscle, the other of the newly named muscle that
ran from the arytenoid to a midline tubercle on the cricoid. The newly named
muscles were not seen in the human larynx. In addition, the location and
con guration of the laryngeal alar cartilage was described. The second
feature was that the way the newly named muscles appear to be familiar to
those in the human larynx. The third feature was that a clear understanding of
how MEPs are distributed in each of the laryngeal muscles was helpful in
understanding the effects of botulinum toxin injection. The MEPs in the
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posterior cricoarytenoid muscle, lateral cricoarytenoid muscle, cricothyroid
muscle, and superior cricoarytenoid muscle were focused mostly at the
midbelly. In addition, the medial thyroarytenoid muscle were focused at the
midbelly while the lateral thyroarytenoid muscle MEPs were focused at the
anterior third of the belly. The fourth and nal feature that was cleared up was
how the MEPs were distributed in the thyroarytenoid muscle.[24]
Laboratory rats have also proved valuable in psychological studies of learning
and other mental processes (Barnett 2002), as well as to understand group
behavior and overcrowding (with the work of John B. Calhoun on behavioral
sink).[citation needed] A 2007 study found rats to possess metacognition, a mental
ability previously only documented in humans and some primates.[25][26]
Domestic rats differ from wild rats in many ways. They are calmer and less
likely to bite; they can tolerate greater crowding; they breed earlier and
produce more offspring; and their brains, livers, kidneys, adrenal glands, and
hearts are smaller (Barnett 2002).
Brown rats are often used as model organisms for scienti c research. Since
the publication of the rat genome sequence,[27] and other advances, such as
the creation of a rat SNP chip, and the production of knockout rats, the
laboratory rat has become a useful genetic tool, although not as popular as
mice. When it comes to conducting tests related to intelligence, learning, and
drug abuse, rats are a popular choice due to their high intelligence, ingenuity,
aggressiveness, and adaptability. Their psychology seems in many ways
similar to that of humans.[citation needed]
Entirely new breeds or "lines" of brown rats, such as the Wistar rat, have
been bred for use in laboratories. Much of the genome of Rattus norvegicus
has been sequenced.[28]
General intelligence
Early studies found evidence both for and against measurable intelligence
using the "g factor" in rats.[29][30] Part of the dif culty of understanding animal
cognition generally, is determining what to measure.[31] One aspect of
intelligence is the ability to learn, which can be measured using a maze like
the T-maze.[31] Experiments done in the 1920s showed that some rats
performed better than others in maze tests, and if these rats were selectively
bred, their offspring also performed better, suggesting that in rats an ability to
learn was heritable in some way.[31]

As food
Main article: Rat meat
Rat meat is a food that, while taboo in some cultures, is a dietary staple in
others.[32]
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 Working rats
Main article: Working rat
Rats have been used as working animals. Tasks for working rats include the
snif ng of gunpowder residue, demining, acting and animal-assisted therapy.
Rats have a keen sense of smell and are easy to train. These characteristics
have been employed, for example, by the Belgian non-governmental
organization APOPO, which trains rats (speci cally African giant pouched
rats) to detect landmines and diagnose tuberculosis through smell.[33]

As pests

Rodent Bait Station, Chennai, India

Rats have long been considered deadly pests. Once considered a modern
myth, the rat ood in India occurs every fty years, as armies of bamboo rats
descend upon rural areas and devour everything in their path.[34] Rats have
long been held up as the chief villain in the spread of the Bubonic Plague;[35]
however, recent studies show that rats alone could not account for the rapid
spread of the disease through Europe in the Middle Ages.[36] Still, the Centers
for Disease Control does list nearly a dozen diseases[37] directly linked to rats.
Most urban areas battle rat infestations. A 2015 study by the American
Housing Survey (AHS) found that eighteen percent of homes in Philadelphia
showed evidence of rodents. Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C.,
also demonstrated signi cant rodent infestations.[38] Indeed, rats in New York
City are famous for their size and prevalence. The urban legend that the rat
population in Manhattan equals that of its human population was de nitively
refuted by Robert Sullivan in his book Rats but illustrates New Yorkers'
awareness of the presence, and on occasion boldness and cleverness, of the
rodents.[39] New York has speci c regulations for eradicating rats; multifamily
residences and commercial businesses must use a specially trained and
licensed rat catcher.[40]
Chicago was declared the "rattiest city" in the US by the pest control
company Orkin in 2020, for the sixth consecutive time. It's followed by Los
Angeles, New York, Washington, DC, and San Francisco.[41] To help combat
the problem, a Chicago animal shelter has placed more than 1000 feral cats
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(sterilized and vaccinated) outside of homes and businesses since 2012,
where they hunt and catch rats while also providing a deterrent simply by
their presence.[42]
Rats have the ability to swim up sewer pipes into toilets.[43][44] Rats will infest
any area that provides shelter and easy access to sources of food and water,
including under sinks, near garbage, and inside walls or cabinets.[45]
In the spread of disease
Rats can serve as zoonotic vectors for certain pathogens and thus spread
disease, such as bubonic plague, Lassa fever, leptospirosis, and Hantavirus
infection.[46] Researchers studying New York City wastewater have also cited
rats as the potential source of "cryptic" SARS-CoV-2 lineages, due to
unknown viral RNA fragments in sewage matching mutations previously
shown to make SARS-CoV-2 more adept at rodent-based transmission.[47]
Rats are also associated with human dermatitis because they are frequently
infested with blood feeding rodent mites such as the tropical rat mite
(Ornithonyssus bacoti) and spiny rat mite (Laelaps echidnina), which will
opportunistically bite and feed on humans,[48] where the condition is known as
rat mite dermatitis.[49]

As invasive species

Rat-catching, 1823, by Edwin Landseer, engraving, published by Hurst, Robinson & Co.
When introduced into locations where rats previously did not exist, they can
wreak an enormous degree of environmental degradation. Rattus rattus, the
black rat, is considered to be one of the world's worst invasive species.[50]
Also known as the ship rat, it has been carried worldwide as a stowaway on
seagoing vessels for millennia and has usually accompanied men to any new
area visited or settled by human beings by sea. Rats rst got to countries
such as America and Australia by stowing away on ships.[51] The similar
species Rattus norvegicus, the brown rat or wharf rat, has also been carried
worldwide by ships in recent centuries.[citation needed]
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 The ship or wharf rat has contributed to the extinction of many species of
wildlife, including birds, small mammals, reptiles, invertebrates, and plants,
especially on islands. True rats are omnivorous, capable of eating a wide
range of plant and animal foods, and have a very high birth rate. When
introduced to a new area, they quickly reproduce to take advantage of the
new food supply. In particular, they prey on the eggs and young of forest
birds, which on isolated islands often have no other predators and thus have
no fear of predators.[52] Some experts believe that rats are to blame for
between forty percent and sixty percent of all seabird and reptile extinctions,
with ninety percent of those occurring on islands. Thus man has indirectly
caused the extinction of many species by accidentally introducing rats to new
areas.[53]

Rat-free areas
0:31

Rat trapped in a cage

Rats are found in nearly all areas of Earth which are inhabited by human
beings. The only rat-free continent is Antarctica, which is too cold for rat
survival outdoors, and its lack of human habitation does not provide buildings
to shelter them from the weather. However, rats have been introduced to
many of the islands near Antarctica, and because of their destructive effect on
native ora and fauna, efforts to eradicate them are ongoing. In particular,
Bird Island (just off rat-infested South Georgia Island), where breeding
seabirds could be badly affected if rats were introduced, is subject to special
measures and regularly monitored for rat invasions.[54]
As part of island restoration, some islands' rat populations have been
eradicated to protect or restore the ecology. Hawadax Island, Alaska was
declared rat free after 229 years and Campbell Island, New Zealand after
almost 200 years. Breaksea Island in New Zealand was declared rat free in
1988 after an eradication campaign based on a successful trial on the smaller
Hawea Island nearby.
In January 2015, an international "Rat Team" set sail from the Falkland
Islands for the British Overseas Territory of South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands on board a ship carrying three helicopters and 100 tons of
rat poison with the objective of "reclaiming the island for its seabirds". Rats
have wiped out more than 90% of the seabirds on South Georgia, and the
sponsors hope that once the rats are gone, it will regain its former status as
home to the greatest concentration of seabirds in the world. The South
Georgia Heritage Trust, which organized the mission describes it as " ve
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times larger than any other rodent eradication attempted worldwide".[55] That
would be true if it were not for the rat control program in Alberta (see below).
The Canadian province of Alberta is notable for being the largest inhabited
area on Earth which is free of true rats due to very aggressive government rat
control policies. It has large numbers of native pack rats, also called bushy-
tailed wood rats, but they are forest-dwelling vegetarians which are much less
destructive than true rats.[56]
Alberta was settled relatively late in North American history and only became
a province in 1905. Black rats cannot survive in its climate at all, and brown
rats must live near people and in their structures to survive the winters. There
are numerous predators in Canada's vast natural areas which will eat non-
native rats, so it took until 1950 for invading rats to make their way over land
from Eastern Canada.[57] Immediately upon their arrival at the eastern border
with Saskatchewan, the Alberta government implemented an extremely
aggressive rat control program to stop them from advancing further. A
systematic detection and eradication system was used throughout a control
zone about 600 kilometres (400 mi) long and 30 kilometres (20 mi) wide
along the eastern border to eliminate rat infestations before the rats could
spread further into the province. Shotguns, bulldozers, high explosives,
poison gas, and incendiaries were used to destroy rats. Numerous farm
buildings were destroyed in the process. Initially, tons of arsenic trioxide were
spread around thousands of farm yards to poison rats, but soon after the
program commenced the rodenticide and medical drug warfarin was
introduced, which is much safer for people and more effective at killing rats
than arsenic.[58]
Forceful government control measures, strong public support and
enthusiastic citizen participation continue to keep rat infestations to a
minimum.[59] The effectiveness has been aided by a similar but newer
program in Saskatchewan which prevents rats from even reaching the Alberta
border. Alberta still employs an armed rat patrol to control rats along Alberta's
borders. About ten single rats are found and killed per year, and occasionally
a large localized infestation has to be dug out with heavy machinery, but the
number of permanent rat infestations is zero.[60]

In culture
Ancient Romans did not generally differentiate between rats and mice,
instead referring to the former as mus maximus (big mouse) and the latter as
mus minimus (little mouse).[61]
On the Isle of Man, there is a taboo against the word "rat".[62]
Chinese zodiac pendant with 5 rats climbing ruyi, bat at top of pendant
Asian cultures
Main article: Rat (zodiac)

Two mice, Vietnam Museum of Ethnology - Hanoi

Chuột rước đèn (The mouse carries the lamp), Vietnamese Đông Hồ painting
The rat (sometimes referred to as a mouse) is the rst of the twelve animals
of the Chinese zodiac. People born in this year are expected to possess
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generosity, ambition, a quick temper and wastefulness. People born in a year
of the rat are said to get along well with "monkeys" and "dragons", and to get
along poorly with "horses".

Indigenous rats are allowed to run freely throughout the Karni Mata Temple.
In Indian tradition, rats are seen as the vehicle of Ganesha, and a rat's statue
is always found in a temple of Ganesh. In the northwestern Indian city of
Deshnoke, the rats at the Karni Mata Temple are held to be destined for
reincarnation as Sadhus (Hindu holy men). The attending priests feed milk
and grain to the rats, of which the pilgrims also partake.
European cultures
European associations with the rat are generally negative. For instance,
"Rats!" is used as a substitute for various vulgar interjections in the English
language. These associations do not draw, per se, from any biological or
behavioral trait of the rat, but possibly from the association of rats (and eas)
with the 14th-century medieval plague called the Black Death. Rats are seen
as vicious, unclean, parasitic animals that steal food and spread disease. In
1522, the rats in Autun, France were charged and put on trial for destroying
crops.[63] However, some people in European cultures keep rats as pets and
conversely nd them to be tame, clean, intelligent, and playful.
Rats are often used in scienti c experiments; animal rights activists allege the
treatment of rats in this context is cruel. The term "lab rat" is used, typically in
a self-effacing manner, to describe a person whose job function requires them
to spend a majority of their work time engaged in bench-level research (such
as postgraduate students in the sciences).
Terminology
Rats are frequently blamed for damaging food supplies and other goods, or
spreading disease. Their reputation has carried into common parlance: in the
English language, "rat" is often an insult or is generally used to signify an
unscrupulous character; it is also used, as a synonym for the term nark, to
mean an individual who works as a police informant or who has turned state's
evidence. Writer/director Preston Sturges created the humorous alias
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"Ratskywatsky" for a soldier who seduced, impregnated, and abandoned the
heroine of his 1944 lm, The Miracle of Morgan's Creek. It is a term (noun
and verb) in criminal slang for an informant – "to rat on someone" is to betray
them by informing the authorities of a crime or misdeed they committed.
Describing a person as "rat-like" usually implies he or she is unattractive and
suspicious.
Among trade unions, the word "rat" is also a term for nonunion employers or
breakers of union contracts, and this is why unions use in atable rats.[64]
Fiction
See also: Fancy rat § Fiction

Imperial Japan depicted as a rat in a World War II United States Navy propaganda
poster.
Depictions of rats in ction are historically inaccurate and negative. The most
common falsehood is the squeaking almost always heard in otherwise
realistic portrayals (i.e. nonanthropomorphic). While the recordings may be of
actual squeaking rats, the noise is uncommon – they may do so only if
distressed, hurt, or annoyed. Normal vocalizations are very high-pitched, well
outside the range of human hearing. Rats are also often cast in vicious and
aggressive roles when in fact, their shyness helps keep them undiscovered
for so long in an infested home.
The actual portrayals of rats vary from negative to positive with a majority in
the negative and ambiguous.[65] The rat plays a villain in several mouse
societies; from Brian Jacques's Redwall and Robin Jarvis's The Deptford
Mice, to the roles of Disney's Professor Ratigan and Kate DiCamillo's
Roscuro and Botticelli. They have often been used as a mechanism in horror;
being the titular evil in stories like The Rats or H.P. Lovecraft's The Rats in the
Walls[65] and in lms like Willard and Ben. Another terrifying use of rats is as a
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 method of torture, for instance in Room 101 in George Orwell's Nineteen
Eighty-Four or The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe.
Sel sh helpfulness —those willing to help for a price— has also been
attributed to ctional rats.[65] Templeton, from E. B. White's Charlotte's Web,
repeatedly reminds the other characters that he is only involved because it
means more food for him, and the cellar-rat of John Mase eld's The Midnight
Folk requires bribery to be of any assistance.
By contrast, the rats appearing in the Doctor Dolittle books tend to be highly
positive and likeable characters, many of whom tell their remarkable life
stories in the Mouse and Rat Club established by the animal-loving doctor.
Some ctional works use rats as the main characters. Notable examples
include the society created by O'Brien's Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH,
and others include Doctor Rat, and Rizzo the Rat from The Muppets. Pixar's
2007 animated lm Ratatouille is about a rat described by Roger Ebert as
"earnest... lovable, determined, [and] gifted" who lives with a Parisian
garbage-boy-turned-chef.[66]
Mon oncle d'Amérique ("My American Uncle"), a 1980 French lm, illustrates
Henri Laborit's theories on evolutionary psychology and human behaviors by
using short sequences in the storyline showing lab rat experiments.
In Harry Turtledove's science ction novel Homeward Bound, humans
unintentionally introduce rats to the ecology at the home world of an alien
race which previously invaded Earth and introduced some of its own fauna
into its environment. A. Bertram Chandler pitted the space-bound protagonist
of a long series of novels, Commodore Grimes, against giant, intelligent rats
who took over several stellar systems and enslaved their human inhabitants.
"The Stainless Steel Rat" is nickname of the (human) protagonist of a series
of humorous science ction novels written by Harry Harrison.
Wererats, therianthropic creatures able to take the shape of a rat,[67] have
appeared in the fantasy or horror genre since the 1970s. The term is a
neologism coined in analogy to werewolf.[citation needed] The concept has since
become common in role playing games like Dungeons & Dragons[67][68][69] and
fantasy ction like the Anita Blake series.[70]
The Pied Piper
Main article: Pied Piper of Hamelin
One of the oldest and most historic stories about rats is "The Pied Piper of
Hamelin", in which a rat-catcher leads away an infestation with enchanted
music.[71] The piper is later refused payment, so he in turn leads away the
town's children. This tale, traced to Germany around the late 13th century,
has inspired adaptations in lm, theatre, literature, and even opera. The
subject of much research, some theories have intertwined the tale with events
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 related to the Black Plague, in which black rats played an important role.
Fictional works based on the tale that focus heavily on the rat aspect include
Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, and Belgian
graphic novel Le Bal du Rat Mort (The Ball of the Dead Rat). Furthermore, a
linguistic phenomenon when a wh-expression drags with it an entire
encompassing phrase to the front of the clause has been named pied-piping
after "Pied Piper of Hamlin" (see also pied-piping with inversion).

See also
• List of ctional rodents
• Rat-baiting
• Rat king
References
1. "Rat Fact Sheet". Nature. Retrieved 2021-09-23.
2. "Habits, Habitat & Types of Mice". Live Science. 26 June 2014. Archived from
the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
3. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Chicago, IL: Britannica Digital Learning. 2017
– via Credo Reference.
4. "Creature Feature Rats". ABC.net.au. Archived from the original on 24 May
2015. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
5. Meerburg BG, Singleton GR, Leirs H (2009). "The Year of the Rat ends: time to
ght hunger!". Pest Manag Sci. 65 (4): 351–2. doi:10.1002/ps.1718.
PMID 19206089. Archived from the original on 2012-12-17.
6. Stokes, Vicki L.; Banks, Peter B.; Pech, Roger P.; Spratt, David M. (2009).
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