Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Black Rat

Taylor et al. (1982) recorded Rattus rattus from “Lorengau, 10 m, 02°01′S, 147°16′E ” on Manus, on the basis of AMNH 193763– 193765, 193768 .

Williams (1999) identified subfossils from the Pamwak archeological site as of Rattus rattus, going back to about 11,000 ybp, but owing to this being such an early date, expressed some uncertainty concerning the identification. Flannery (in litt.) states that he found no specimens of R. rattus among the Pamwak remains.