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Rattus rattus

Kiore Toka

Ship Rat

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Rarotonga - uniform morph	72KB
Image:	Mitiaro - dark morph adult	128KB
Image:	Rat attacking a bird's nest	52KB
Image:	Black and white illustration	59KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Ship Rat, Black Rat, Roof Rat, House Rat; German Hausratte

TRADITIONAL NAMES: Kiore Toka (RR), Kiore (MG MT TW), Kiore / Kiore Pāniora (MK), Kiole (TS); Other Polynesian - ‘Iole / ‘Iole-nui (HAW, rat / big rat); COMMENT: Kiore Pāniora an early name on Ma‘uke for the introduced rat(s).

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Malaysia; EXOTIC EXOTIC global

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; Land

SIGNIFICANCE LIST: ; Invasive - serious, Pest - serious (agric & domestic)

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++++	+++	-	++	++	-	-	-	-

Northern Group: Present
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
P?			-		-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Pests & Hosts

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Relationship	Pests
Parasite - external	Ctenocephalides felis,
Parasite - internal	Angiostrongylus cantonensis,

Scientific Taxonomy

Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758)
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); TETRAPODA; MAMMALIA; THERIA; EUTHERIA; Rodentia; MURIDAE

More Information

SIGNIFICANCE NOTES -
NEGATIVE SIGNIFICANCE: Invasive - serious, Pest - serious (agric & domestic). Comments: NBSAP - Te Au-o-Tonga (5 of 11 animal pests), NBSAP - Takitumu (3 of 9 animal pests), NBSAP - Puaikura (6 of 12 animal pests), NBSAP - Mauke (spp. 3 of 10 animals), NBSAP - Mitiaro (spp. 2 of 9 animals), NBSAP - Mangaia (2 of 4 pest animals) One of world's 100 invasive alien species [ISSG,2001].

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: ten specimens, Totokoitu-Turoa-Avana, Jan/1990, B.Fitzgerald with ID as two colour morphs of Rattus rattus - seven 'frugivorous' morph (agouti back, white belly), and three 'alexandrinus' morph (agouti back, grey belly).

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zupM05b

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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