Muridae (Old World Mice and Rats)

Species in this group

LC

Meriones unguiculatus

Daily sighting probability ~80% · Very likely

NT

Arvicanthis blicki

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

LC

Rhabdomys pumilio

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely

VU Endemic

Lophuromys melanonyx

Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely

LC

Uromys caudimaculatus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC

Arvicanthis niloticus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC

Hydromys chrysogaster

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC Endemic

Melomys cervinipes

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

NT Endemic

Mastacomys fuscus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC Endemic

Notomys alexis

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC Endemic

Rattus lutreolus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC

Apodemus sylvaticus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

LC Endemic

Rattus fuscipes

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Myotomys unisulcatus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Thallomys nigricauda

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Otomys irroratus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Pogonomys macrourus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Parotomys brantsii

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

LC

Mus minutoides

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

LC

Lemniscomys rosalia

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

LC

Thallomys paedulcus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

See all 21 species Show fewer

Daily sighting probability by month

Probability-weighted average across the group's species

~20%

Jan

~20%

Feb

~20%

Mar

~20%

Apr

~20%

May

~20%

Jun

~30%

Jul

~20%

Aug

~20%

Sep

~20%

Oct

~20%

Nov

~20%

Dec

When they're spotted

When the group's species are recorded (aggregated)

Where to see Old World Mice and Rats

Warmer areas are where this group is recorded most often. Shaded: the known ranges of its 406 species, darker where more of them overlap (Mammal Diversity Database, Marsh et al. 2022). Our parks Our cities In captivity: 35 zoos & centres

Parks Ranked

#	Park	Country	Species	Daily sighting probability
1	Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park	🇲🇳 Mongolia	1 of 21	~80%
	Mongolian Jird			~80%
2	Bale Mountains National Park	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	2 of 21	~70%
	Blick's Grass Rat			~50%
	Black-clawed Brush-furred Rat			~40%
3	Daintree National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	4 of 21	~50%
	White-tailed Giant Rat			~20%
	Fawn-footed Melomys			~20%
	Chestnut Tree Mouse			~10%
	Rakali			~10%
4	Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 21	~40%
	Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse			~30%
	Black-tailed Tree Rat			~10%
	Brants's Whistling Rat			~10%
5	Lamington National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	4 of 21	~40%
	Fawn-footed Melomys			~20%
	Bush Rat			~20%
	Australian Swamp Rat			~10%
	Rakali			~10%
6	De Hoop Nature Reserve	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 21	~40%
	Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse			~40%
7	Kosciuszko National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 21	~40%
	Rakali			~20%
	Broad-toothed Mouse			~20%
8	West Coast National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	1 of 21	~40%
	Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse			~40%
9	Addo Elephant National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 21	~30%
	Bush Vlei Rat			~10%
	Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse			~10%
	vlei rat			~10%
10	Booderee National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 21	~30%
	Australian Swamp Rat			~10%
	Bush Rat			~10%
11	Garden Route National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 21	~30%
	Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse			~10%
	vlei rat			~10%
	Pygmy Mouse			<5%
12	Great Otway National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 21	~20%
	Australian Swamp Rat			~20%
	Bush Rat			~10%
13	Serengeti National Park	🇹🇿 Tanzania	1 of 21	~20%
	African Grass Rat			~20%
14	Table Mountain National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	2 of 21	~20%
	Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse			~20%
	vlei rat			<5%
15	Ngorongoro Conservation Area	🇹🇿 Tanzania	1 of 21	~20%
	African Grass Rat			~20%
16	Ningaloo Marine Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 21	~20%
	Spinifex Hopping Mouse			~20%
17	Snowdonia National Park	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1 of 21	~20%
	European Wood Mouse			~20%
18	Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 21	~20%
	Spinifex Hopping Mouse			~20%
19	Lake Nakuru National Park	🇰🇪 Kenya	1 of 21	~20%
	African Grass Rat			~20%
20	Cairngorms National Park	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1 of 21	~20%
	European Wood Mouse			~20%
21	Springbrook National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 21	~10%
	Bush Rat			~10%
	Fawn-footed Melomys			~10%
22	Blue Mountains National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 21	~10%
	Bush Rat			~10%
	Rakali			~10%
23	Royal National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 21	~10%
	Australian Swamp Rat			~10%
24	Namib-Naukluft National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	1 of 21	~10%
	Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse			~10%
25	Grampians National Park	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 21	~10%
	Australian Swamp Rat			~10%
26	Etosha National Park	🇳🇦 Namibia	1 of 21	~10%
	Black-tailed Tree Rat			~10%
27	Masai Mara National Reserve	🇰🇪 Kenya	1 of 21	~10%
	African Grass Rat			~10%
28	Kruger National Park	🇿🇦 South Africa	2 of 21	~10%
	Single-striped Grass Mouse			<5%
	Acacia Rat			<5%
29	Pyrénées National Park	🇫🇷 France	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
30	Sierra de Guadarrama National Park	🇪🇸 Spain	1 of 21	<5%
	European Wood Mouse			<5%

Cities Ranked

#	City	Country	Species	Daily sighting probability
1	Cape Town	🇿🇦 South Africa	3 of 21	~20%
	Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse			~10%
	vlei rat			<5%
	Pygmy Mouse			<5%
2	Manchester	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
3	Brisbane	🇦🇺 Australia	1 of 21	~10%
	Rakali			~10%
4	Liverpool	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
5	Melbourne	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 21	~10%
	Rakali			~10%
	Australian Swamp Rat			<5%
6	Birmingham	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
7	Leeds	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
8	London	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
9	Cologne	🇩🇪 Germany	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
10	Brussels	🇧🇪 Belgium	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
11	Dublin	🇮🇪 Ireland	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
12	Paris	🇫🇷 France	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
13	Amsterdam	🇳🇱 Netherlands	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
14	Rotterdam [The Hague]	🇳🇱 Netherlands	1 of 21	~10%
	European Wood Mouse			~10%
15	Sydney	🇦🇺 Australia	2 of 21	~10%
	Rakali			<5%
	Bush Rat			<5%
16	Hamburg	🇩🇪 Germany	1 of 21	<5%
	European Wood Mouse			<5%
17	Berlin	🇩🇪 Germany	1 of 21	<5%
	European Wood Mouse			<5%
18	Prague	🇨🇿 Czechia	1 of 21	<5%
	European Wood Mouse			<5%
19	Vienna	🇦🇹 Austria	1 of 21	<5%
	European Wood Mouse			<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

#	Zoo / Centre	Country
1	Prague Zoo	🇨🇿 Czechia	In captivity
2	Zoo Pilsen	🇨🇿 Czechia	In captivity
3	Werribee Open Range Zoo	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
4	Bronx Zoo	🇺🇸 United States	In captivity
5	Chester Zoo	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	In captivity
6	Alice Springs Desert Park	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
7	Yerevan Zoo	🇦🇲 Armenia	In captivity
8	Kyiv Zoo	🇺🇦 Ukraine	In captivity
9	Berlin Zoological Garden	🇩🇪 Germany	In captivity
10	Wrocław Zoological Garden	🇵🇱 Poland	In captivity
11	Taronga Zoo	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
12	Cleland Wildlife Park	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
13	Perth Zoo	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
14	Schönbrunn Zoo	🇦🇹 Austria	In captivity
15	Budapest Zoo & Botanical Garden	🇭🇺 Hungary	In captivity
16	London Zoo	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	In captivity
17	Ueno Zoo	🇯🇵 Japan	In captivity
18	Frankfurt Zoological Garden	🇩🇪 Germany	In captivity
19	British Wildlife Centre	🇬🇧 United Kingdom	In captivity
20	Sydney Zoo	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
21	Adelaide Zoo	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
22	Ueno Zoological Gardens (West Garden)	🇯🇵 Japan	In captivity
23	Koala Park Sanctuary	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
24	Sea Life Sydney Aquarium	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
25	Africarium	🇵🇱 Poland	In captivity
26	Wild Life Sydney	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
27	Aquarium Berlin	🇩🇪 Germany	In captivity
28	Rákosův pavilon	🇨🇿 Czechia	In captivity
29	Velemlokárium	🇨🇿 Czechia	In captivity
30	African Safari World	🇦🇺 Australia	In captivity
31	Exotic Animal World	🇿🇦 South Africa	In captivity
32	Japan Monkey Centre	🇯🇵 Japan	In captivity
33	terrarium ogrodu zoologicznego we Wrocławiu	🇵🇱 Poland	In captivity
34	The Juana's Market	🇦🇷 Argentina	In captivity
35	Тульский экзотариум (новая экспозиция)	🇷🇺 Russia	In captivity

Show all 35 Show fewer

Old World Mice and Rats

Species in this group

Mongolian Jird

Blick's Grass Rat

Cape Four-striped Grass Mouse

Black-clawed Brush-furred Rat

White-tailed Giant Rat

African Grass Rat

Rakali

Fawn-footed Melomys

Broad-toothed Mouse

Spinifex Hopping Mouse

Australian Swamp Rat

European Wood Mouse

Bush Rat

Bush Vlei Rat

Black-tailed Tree Rat

vlei rat

Chestnut Tree Mouse

Brants's Whistling Rat

Pygmy Mouse

Single-striped Grass Mouse

Acacia Rat

Daily sighting probability by month

When they're spotted

Where to see Old World Mice and Rats

Parks Ranked

Cities Ranked

Zoos & Centres Where Found