Rats are medium-sized rodents with lengthy tails. Rat species may be found across the order Rodentia, however the genus Rattus is where archetypal rats can be found. Neotoma (pack rats), Bandicota (bandicoot rats), and Dipodomys are some of the other rat genera (kangaroo rats).

Rats and mice are usually recognized by their size. When a big muroid rodent is discovered, its common name usually contains the term rat, but if it is smaller, its name usually includes the term mouse. The words “rat” and “mouse” aren’t taxonomically distinct.

The black rat (Rattus rattus) and the brown rat (Rattus rattus) are the most well-known rat species (Rattus norvegicus). This species, often known as genuine rats or Old World rats, originated in Asia. Rats are larger than most Old World mice, although they seldom exceed more than 500 grams (17.12 oz) in the wild.

Rat is also a generic word for a variety of tiny animals that aren’t genuine rats. North American pack rats (also known as wood rats) and a variety of species referred to as kangaroo rats are two examples. The bandicoot rat (Bandicota bengalensis) is a murine rodent that is related to real rats but does not belong to the genus Rattus.

Bucks are male rats; does are unmated females; dams are pregnant or parent females; and kittens or pups are newborns. A mischief is a term used to describe a gang of rats.

Most rodents have a long tail, which has been widely researched in several rat species models, suggesting three major roles for this structure: thermoregulation, modest proprioception, and a nocifensive-mediated degloving response. Rodent tails, especially in rat models, have been linked to a thermoregulation role as a result of their anatomical structure. In contrast to the bushier tails of the Sciuridae, the squirrel family, this tail shape is seen across the Muridae family.

The tail is hairless and has a thin skin, yet it is very vascularized, allowing for effective countercurrent heat exchange with the environment. The tail’s dense muscular and connective structure, as well as numerous muscle attachment sites along its numerous caudal vertebrae, allow the mouse to use specialized proprioceptive senses to assist it navigate in a three-dimensional environment.

Murids have developed a unique defensive mechanism called degloving, which helps them to avoid predators by removing the tail’s outermost integumentary covering. This mechanism, on the other hand, has been linked to a number of diseases that have been studied.

Several studies have looked at the thermoregulatory ability of rodent tails by putting test organisms through various degrees of physical exercise and measuring heat conduction via their tails. A substantial difference in heat dissipation from a rat’s tail compared to its abdomen was discovered in one research.

This was ascribed to the tail’s larger proportion of vascularity, as well as its higher surface-area-to-volume ratio, both of which are directly related to heat dissipation through the skin. These findings were replicated in a subsequent study that looked at the link between heat storage and mechanical efficiency in rats that exercise in hot weather. The tail was used to measure heat buildup and modulation in this investigation.

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