Site navigation

ANIMAL SPECIES:Bush Rat

Add comment Add tags

The Bush Rat can be quite difficult to find because of its nocturnal habits and also because it prefers to nest hidden in dense forest.

Identification

A native rat, the Bush Rat is grey-brown in colour with rounded ears and a relatively short tail.

The Bush Rat has the following key features that help to distinguish it from other rats or marsupials:

  • Front teeth One pair of distinctive chisel shaped incisors with hard yellow enamel on front surfaces.
  • Head Pointed head.
  • Ears Conspicuous rounded ears.
  • Colouring Grey to grey-brown or reddish above, grey or cream below; dense soft fur.

Size range

Body 110 mm - 205 mm, tail 105 mm - 195 mm, weight 65 g - 225 g

Similar Species

Black Rat (Rattus rattus) and the Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Distribution

The Bush Rat is found in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and south-western Western Australia.

Habitat

The Bush Rat lives in forests, woodlands and heath. Bush Rats prefer to live in the dense forest understorey, sheltering in short burrows under logs or rocks and lining their nests with grass. They are not found often in urban areas.

Behaviour and adaptations

Feeding and Diet

The Bush Rat is an omnivore and eats fungi, grasses, fruits, seeds and insects.

Feeding Habit

omnivore

What does this mean?

Classification

Species:
fuscipes
Genus:
Rattus
Family:
Muridae
Order:
Rodentia
Subclass:
Eutheria
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Kingdom:
Animalia

What does this mean?


Ondine Evans , Web Researcher/Editor
Last Updated: 19 June 2009

19 comments

Mark Eldridge STAFF

Mark Eldridge
3.03 PM, 16 March 2010

Hi hutty, the first photo also looks like a black rat, but without a good view of the tail it is hard to be definitive. Generally black rats have longer ears and bush rats shorter more rounded ears, but ear shape is not always a reliable character as young black rats have quite rounded ears too. The tail length is the best way to identify them. In Australia any rat with a tail significantly longer  than the head/body length will be a black rat. Also any rat caught around houses in towns or cities like Sydney, even in bushy areas, is much more likely to be the introduced black rat rather than a bush rat. 

Simon Hutt

hutty
11.03 PM, 12 March 2010

But the first photo (the alive one) shows it has round ears? I have caught several in a wire trap and then released them in Warringah. They are all the same with a long black rat looking tail but then have round ears. Are they some sort of crossbreed??

Mark Eldridge STAFF

Mark Eldridge
8.03 AM, 10 March 2010

Hi Diavma, this is a helpful photo as it shows you have an introduced black rat  (Rattus rattus), since the tail is significantly longer than the length of the head and body. In the native bush rat (Rattus fuscipes) the tail is about the same length as the head and body.

Dianne Mathews

Diavma
1.02 PM, 24 February 2010

The articles were good to read. I managed to get photo of tail (unfortunate for this one it was found dead).

Comment Attachment

Ondine Evans STAFF

Ondine Evans
11.01 AM, 04 January 2010

This article from the Sydney Morning Herald is quite interesting. It is about how Bush Rats actually can push Black Rats out of an area if they gain enough of a foothold. The original media release from Mosman Council is also available, with some pics of the two rats plus a ringtail possum for comparison.

Dianne Mathews

Diavma
10.01 PM, 03 January 2010

Hi Ondine, thanks for the response. I had read the link you referred to and have been trying to capture photos that show the tail but so far no luck, they are fast moving. I have seen the tail in comparison and it is approx the length of the body. They are fairly timid, currently there seems to be 3 distinct sizes residing together.

Ondine Evans STAFF

Ondine Evans
9.01 AM, 03 January 2010

Hi Diavma - our page called Is it a Rat? lists a series of points that may help you discern whether your rat is an introduced or native species. While your photo is great, it is hard to tell as I can't see the tail (comparative length is important) and colour is not a good identification factor. Have a look at the page I mentioned and perhaps get another photo with the tail clearly visible, if you can!

Dianne Mathews

Diavma
2.01 PM, 02 January 2010

I have been trying to identify this rodent for a while now. Is it an Aussie native rat??? (see attached image file). We live in farming area and we have a breeding pair in burrows under a small pond in our yard. They have been there for years and raised multiple litters but never offer to venture indoors. Im thinking they look more like the photo of the bush rat than the black rat, am I correct???

Comment Attachment

Ondine Evans STAFF

Ondine Evans
1.07 PM, 07 July 2009

Thankyou, billyhill, for pointing out that bats are not rodents - you are quite right! And, Monkey, it is interesting to hear your observations about recently cleared lands and the possibility that native rodents may be foraging in or near houses. This is why your method of humane trapping is the best idea if you wish to avoid harming small, native mammals.

Thomas BLEEP

Monkey
3.07 PM, 05 July 2009

I always use humane traps to capture rodents in the home and while almost half of the rats I capture are Rattus Rattus, many look far more like this species and some are different again. The ones that I believe to be Rattus Fuscipes sometimes make a grunting noise when aggitated. It's an unusual sound to hear from a rodent. They are very distinct in appearance when compared to Rattus Rattus or Rattus Norvegicus. There has recently been an extremely large amount of dry eucalypt forest and dense bushland cleared for the development of several new suburbs in my area which may be part of why they are forced to search for food in a semi-suburban area.

Anthony Russo

billyhill
4.07 PM, 04 July 2009

Peppercorn I must disagree with you bats may resemble rodents but they most certainly are not they are in the order of Chiroptera whilst rodents are in the order of Rodentia.

joshua marrinucci

peppercorn
1.07 PM, 04 July 2009

Odine thank you for your previous comment on the ghost bat however i would like to inform you that these species of rodents have less distinguished large ears than bats because their not as round or wide in disc shaped as rodents are.

Ondine Evans STAFF

Ondine Evans
9.07 AM, 02 July 2009

Yes, Joel, you are right. Black Rats are particularly adapted to living alongside humans (commensalism).

Joel Tremblay

joel-tremblay
12.07 PM, 01 July 2009

So Bush Rats are less likely to be found inside houses then?

Report misuse

Would you like to add a comment?

Sign up to add comments and find out more about the other benefits you can enjoy.

Forgotten your password?

Would you like to add a tag?

Sign up to add tags and find out more about the other benefits you can enjoy.

Forgotten your password?

Bush Rat

Bush Rat View full size
Nature Focus © Australian Museum

what's on

Boy on bee
Amazing Backyard Adventures

05 Dec 09 – 18 Apr 10

What's on calendar

Support us

Help us continue to provide quality research, education, community programs and exhibitions.

Donate now

Online Shop

Featuring a selection of products relating to the collections.

Australian Museum Members

Join today to come to the Museum for free and enjoy many other benefits.

AMBS

Australian Museum Business Services - Ecological, archaeological and heritage consulting.

Museum as a Venue

We have many unique venues ideal for dinner, cocktails, weddings and conferences.