Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)

E201664

commensal pest mammal model organism rodent vertebrate

The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) is a widely distributed, medium-sized rodent that serves as a major biomedical model organism and a common commensal pest species associated with human environments.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (5)

Label	Occurrences
Rattus norvegicus	10
Norway rat	2
Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) canonical	1
Norway rats	1
Rattus Norvegicus	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1772453 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Context triple: [Rodentia, notableModelOrganism, Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)]

A. house mouse (Mus musculus)
The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a small, globally distributed rodent that is one of the most important mammalian model organisms in biomedical and genetic research.
B. Rat
Rat is a friendly, boat-loving water vole who serves as one of the central animal protagonists in Kenneth Grahame’s classic children’s novel "The Wind in the Willows."
C. The Rat
"The Rat" is a darkly satirical novel by Günter Grass that blends dystopian fantasy and political allegory to explore themes of human self-destruction and environmental catastrophe.
D. Eastern gray squirrel
The Eastern gray squirrel is a common North American tree squirrel known for its gray fur, bushy tail, and adaptability to both forests and urban environments.
E. Rabbit
Rabbit is a famous stainless-steel sculpture by Jeff Koons, celebrated as an iconic work of contemporary pop and conceptual art.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)
Target entity description: The Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) is a widely distributed, medium-sized rodent that serves as a major biomedical model organism and a common commensal pest species associated with human environments.

A. house mouse (Mus musculus)
The house mouse (Mus musculus) is a small, globally distributed rodent that is one of the most important mammalian model organisms in biomedical and genetic research.
B. Rat
Rat is a friendly, boat-loving water vole who serves as one of the central animal protagonists in Kenneth Grahame’s classic children’s novel "The Wind in the Willows."
C. The Rat
"The Rat" is a darkly satirical novel by Günter Grass that blends dystopian fantasy and political allegory to explore themes of human self-destruction and environmental catastrophe.
D. Eastern gray squirrel
The Eastern gray squirrel is a common North American tree squirrel known for its gray fur, bushy tail, and adaptability to both forests and urban environments.
E. Rabbit
Rabbit is a famous stainless-steel sculpture by Jeff Koons, celebrated as an iconic work of contemporary pop and conceptual art.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (90)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	commensal pest ⓘ mammal ⓘ model organism ⓘ rodent ⓘ vertebrate ⓘ
activityPattern	primarily nocturnal ⓘ
adultWeight	approximately 200 to 500 g ⓘ
associationWithHumans	commensal ⓘ
behavioralTrait	neophobic toward novel objects ⓘ
bodyLength	approximately 20 to 25 cm ⓘ
chromosomeNumber	42 ⓘ
class	Mammalia ⓘ
climbingAbility	good climber ⓘ
commonName	Norway rat ⓘ brown rat ⓘ sewer rat ⓘ
controlMethod	habitat modification ⓘ rodenticides ⓘ trapping ⓘ
damageType	food contamination ⓘ structural damage ⓘ
derivedFrom	Norway rat ⓘ
diet	omnivorous ⓘ
diseaseVectorFor	Leptospira interrogans ⓘ Salmonella spp. ⓘ rat-bite fever pathogens ⓘ
distribution	cosmopolitan ⓘ
domesticatedForm	laboratory rat ⓘ
family	Muridae ⓘ Muridae ⓘ
firstDescribedBy	John Berkenhout ⓘ
firstScientificDescriptionYear	1769 ⓘ
furColor	brown ⓘ grey-brown ⓘ
genomeSequenced	true ⓘ
genus	Rattus ⓘ
gestationPeriod	about 21 to 23 days ⓘ
hearingAbility	sensitive to ultrasound ⓘ
introducedRange	Africa ⓘ Australia ⓘ Europe ⓘ New Zealand ⓘ North America ⓘ South America ⓘ many oceanic islands ⓘ
IUCNStatus	Least Concern ⓘ
kingdom	Animalia ⓘ
lifespanInCaptivity	up to 3 to 4 years or more ⓘ
lifespanInWild	about 1 to 2 years ⓘ
litterSize	about 6 to 12 young ⓘ
locomotion	terrestrial ⓘ
modelForDisease	cancer ⓘ diabetes ⓘ hypertension ⓘ neurological disorders ⓘ
nativeRange	Mongolia ⓘ Siberia ⓘ northern China ⓘ linked to: North China
nestingBehavior	burrow-dwelling ⓘ
order	Rodentia ⓘ
parasiteHostFor	fleas ⓘ mites ⓘ ticks ⓘ
pestStatus	agricultural pest ⓘ urban pest ⓘ
phylum	Chordata ⓘ
populationTrend	increasing in many urban areas ⓘ
primaryUseInResearch	behavioral studies ⓘ biomedical research ⓘ neuroscience ⓘ pharmacology ⓘ toxicology ⓘ
relevanceToHumans	important pest species ⓘ major laboratory animal ⓘ
reproductionType	viviparous ⓘ
reproductiveStrategy	high reproductive rate ⓘ
scientificName	Rattus norvegicus ⓘ linked to: Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus)
sensoryCommunication	ultrasonic vocalizations ⓘ
sexualMaturityAge	about 5 to 8 weeks ⓘ
smellAbility	highly developed sense of smell ⓘ
socialStructure	highly social ⓘ
swimmingAbility	good swimmer ⓘ
tailCharacteristic	scaly ⓘ
tailLength	approximately 17 to 23 cm ⓘ
taxonRank	species ⓘ
typicalHabitat	buildings ⓘ farms ⓘ sewers ⓘ urban areas ⓘ
visionCharacteristic	poor visual acuity ⓘ

How these facts were elicited