Species Rattus sordidus (Gould, 1858)

Museums

Regional Maps

• Mus sordidus Gould, J. 1858. On four new species of Mus and one of Hapalotis from Australia. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1857: 241-243 [publication date established from Sclater, P.L. 1893. List of the dates of receipt from the Printers of the sheets of the Society's 'Proceedings' from 1831 to 1859 inclusive. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1893: 435–440 [440]] [242].

  Type data:

   Lectotype BMNH 58.11.24.6 ♂ skin & skull, open plains Darling Downs, QLD.
• Rattus conatus Thomas, O. 1923. On the ring-tailed phalanger of South Australia, and a new rat from North Queensland. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 9 12: 158-160 [159].

  Type data:

   Holotype BMNH 23.1.5.15 ♀ skin & skull, Annan River, Cooktown, QLD.
• Rattus youngi Thomas, O. 1926. Two new Australian Muridae. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 9 18: 308-310 [309].

  Type data:

   Holotype BMNH 26.7.1.1 ♂ skin & skull, Cowan Cowan, Moreton Is., QLD.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Mahoney, J.A. in Walton, D.W. (ed.) 1988. Zoological Catalogue of Australia Volume 5. Mammalia. Canberra : Australian Government Publishing Service x 274 pp. [Date published 13/Apr/1988] [187]

 

Generic Combinations

• Rattus sordidus (Gould, 1858).

 

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Only South-West Island in Sir Edward Pellew Group, NT.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

NSW, NT, Qld: Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Wet Tropics (WT)

Ecological Descriptors

Burrower, crop, folivore, granivore, omnivore, open forest, predator, terrestrial, tussock grassland.

 

General References

Baverstock, P.R., Watts, C.H.S., Adams, M. & Cole, S.R. 1981. Genetical relationships among Australian rodents (Muridae). Australian Journal of Zoology 29: 289-303

Baverstock, P.R., Watts, C.H.S., Hogarth, J.T., Robinson, A.C. & Robinson, J.F. 1977. Chromosome evolution in Australian rodents II. The Rattus Group. Chromosoma (Berlin) 61: 227-241

Breed, W.J. & Sarafis, V. 1979. On the phylogenetic significance of spermatozoal morphology and male reproductive tract anatomy in Australian rodents. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 103: 127-135

Goosem, M, & Marsh, H. 1997. Fragmentation of a small-mammal community by a powerline corridor through tropical rainforest. Wildlife Research 24: 613-629

McDougall, W.A. 1944. An investigation of the rat pest problem in Queensland canefields: 2. Species and general habits. Queensland Journal of Agricultural Science 1(2): 48-78

Redhead, T.D. 1995. Canefield Rat Rattus sordidus. pp. 661-662 in Strahan, R. (ed.). The Mammals of Australia: The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Sydney : Reed New Holland 756 pp.

Robertson, L.N., Story, P.G., Wilson, J. & Egan, B.T. 1995. Integrated pest management for rodents in sugarcane. Proceedings of the 1995 Conference of the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists held at Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia, 2nd May to 5th May 1995. 70-74 pp.

Ruscoe, W.A., Mather, P.B. & Wilson, J. 1998. Genetic structure in populations of Rattus sordidus in sugarcane-growing districts of Queensland, Australia. Journal of Mammalogy 79: 612-623

Smales, L.R. 1992. A survey of the helminths of Rattus sordidus, the canefield rat, together with a description of Ancistronema coronatum n.g., n. sp. (Nematoda: Chambertiidae). Systematic Parasitology 22: 73-80

Taylor, J.M., Calaby, J.H. & Van Deusen, H.M. 1982. A revision of the genus Rattus (Rodentia, Muridae) in the New Guinean region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 173: 177-336

Taylor, J.M. & Horner, B.E. 1973. Reproductive characteristics of wild native Australian Rattus (Rodentia: Muridae). Australian Journal of Zoology 21: 437-475

Taylor, J.M. & Horner, B.E. 1973. Results of the Archbold Expeditions. No. 98. Systematics of native Australian Rattus (Rodentia, Muridae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 150: 1-130

Watts, C.H.S. 1982. The husbandry of Australian Rattus. pp. 177-179 in Evans, D.D. (ed.). The Management of Australian Mammals in Captivity. Proceedings of the Scientific Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society, Healesville, Victoria, February 1979. Melbourne : Zoological Board of Victoria 194 pp.

Watts, C.H.S. & Aslin, H.J. 1981. The Rodents of Australia. Sydney : Angus & Robertson xii 321 pp. 16 pls.

Whisson, D. 1996. The effect of two agricultural techniques on populations of the canefield rat (Rattus sordidus) in sugarcane crops of north Queensland. Wildlife Research 23: 589-604

 

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Canefield Rat)

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
04-Feb-2023		10-Dec-2010	MOVED
10-Dec-2010		10-Dec-2010	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)