Rattus fuscipes
Silhouette: Rachel T Mason · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The bush rat or Australian bush rat (Rattus fuscipes) is a small Australian nocturnal animal. It is an omnivore and one of the most common indigenous species of rat on the continent, found in many heathland areas of Victoria and New South Wales.
The description of the species by G. R. Waterhouse was published in the second part of the series Zoology of the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, edited by Charles Darwin. The species was assigned to the genus Mus, a once broader classification, and later placed with the genus Rattus. The collection of the type specimen was made when HMS Beagle was anchored at King George Sound, a port at the southwest of the continent. The capture was noted by Darwin as "caught in a trap baited with cheese, amongst the bushes...". The type locality has been determined as Little Grove, Western Australia, six kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Mount Melville in the city of Albany. The population is regarded as the fuscipes species group, as the species has received various treatments of subspecies.
Four subspecies are recognised, each occurring in different regions or habitat, these are R. f. assimilis, common in the coastal region of the south and east of... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bush Rat sighting in Sydney on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 22 mammals we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bush Rat in Sydney on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bush Rat sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Sydney, in our data
Sydney is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Bush Rat sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bush Rat is recorded against all the mammals logged in Sydney (5 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
