Rattus

Read more about the article Invasive rodents widely traded in the pet trade industry in Gauteng Province
Photograph credit: Shivambu N
2020 / News

Invasive rodents widely traded in the pet trade industry in Gauteng Province

The brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) and the house mouse (Mus musculus) are some of the world’s worst invasive rodent species. They are known to spread zoonotic diseases, damage crops and  household items, outcompete native species for food, and prey on some bird species.

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23 November 2020
Read more about the article Introduced rats and their co-introduced parasites
Anterior end of the rodent pinworm, Syphacia muris recovered from the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in Gauteng Province. This pinworm showed genetic similarity to a pinworm from the same host species in the native range. (Photo credit: Rolanda Julius)
2018 / News

Introduced rats and their co-introduced parasites

The helminth parasites harboured by invasive rodents in South Africa are closely related to geographically distant counterparts. This was revealed by research conducted on parasitic worms of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus), the black rat (Rattus rattus) and the Asian house rat (Rattus tanezumi) in urban areas of Gauteng Province by C·I·B doctoral student, Rolanda Julius at the University of Pretoria.

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16 May 2018