What Animal Lives Where

Where has the black rat been recorded?

Rattus rattus occurrence evidence comes from 11,039 records in 136 countries and territories, from 1844 to 2026. Most records come from United States.

black rat
black rat — Photo (display-sized rendition): Davidvraju · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
MammaliaRodentiaMuridaeRattus

Observation evidence passport

Evidence found

11,039 records across 136 countries and territories, 1844–2026.

Rattus rattus · GBIF taxon key 2439270

Source coverage

CC0 GBIF Animalia occurrence facets, including country, month and year summaries.

Refreshed 2026-09-21. Inspect the taxon on GBIF.

What this means

The species has been recorded in the listed places in the stated source universe. Peak month: January.

12 months reach at least 10% of the peak facet count.

What this does not mean

repeated describes the record pattern, not a formal range, residency, abundance or conservation assessment.

A single record remains evidence of a recording, not proof that a population lives there.

Compare this animal’s observation pattern

When it is recorded

JFMAMJJASOND

Peak month: January. Records cluster in the months an animal is present and being looked for, so a summer peak can reflect observer effort as much as the animal.

Records over time

18442026

Recording effort has risen steeply almost everywhere since the 1990s, so a rising line usually shows more observers rather than more animals.

Where black rat has been recorded

The countries below show where occurrence evidence exists for black rat. They do not define a complete habitat range: survey effort differs by place, and historical or one-off records can appear alongside repeated presence.

PlaceRecordsShare
United States 1,982
Australia 1,295
Indonesia 856
Madagascar 703
Ecuador 685
Panama 245
Mexico 215
India 195
Puerto Rico 192
Chile 190
Niger 187
Bolivia 185
Benin 179
Ethiopia 168
Senegal 153
Venezuela 150
Egypt 144
Sierra Leone 142
Brazil 127
Guinea 122
Philippines 114
Mali 113
Vietnam 105
Colombia 104
Nigeria 97
Türkiye 94
United States Minor Outlying Islands 94
Sri Lanka 89
Canada 88
Tanzania 77
Ghana 70
Nepal 70
New Zealand 68
Spain 65
Solomon Islands 64
Malaysia 59
Djibouti 58
Yemen 54
Bulgaria 53
Belgium 52

Showing the top 40 of 136 places.

Related animals

Others in the family Muridae.

house mouse
house mouse
26,983 records
Coucha Rat
Coucha Rat
6,522 records
Yellow-necked Mouse
Yellow-necked Mouse
4,544 records
Jackson's Praomys
3,065 records
African Arvicanthis
African Arvicanthis
3,051 records
Typical Lemniscomys
Typical Lemniscomys
2,443 records
Gracile Tateril
2,200 records
Reddish-white Mastomys
Reddish-white Mastomys
1,530 records
Record pattern: repeated
Repeated records across many years and months. This is inferred from how many years and months the animal appears in, not from a range map — treat it as evidence, not a formal assessment.