Norway rat (Norway rat)

Japanese: ドブネズミ(溝鼠) - ドブネズミ（英語表記）Norway rat

A rodent mammal of the Muridae family (illustration). A typical house mouse, along with the brown rat. It is thought to have originated in Central Asia, and spread to Europe in the early 18th century, and is now found all over the world. Body length 22-26 cm, tail length 17-22 cm, weight 300-400 g. It resembles the brown rat of the same genus, but its tail is shorter than its body length, its ears are small, and when folded forward, they do not reach the eyes. The dorsal surface of the body is often brown, and the ventral surface and front and hind legs are grayish-white, but there is a wide variety, including those that are completely black, white, or black and white spotted.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

齧歯（げつし）目ネズミ科の哺乳類（イラスト）。クマネズミと並ぶ代表的なイエネズミ。原産地はおそらく中央アジアと考えられ，18世紀初めにヨーロッパへ分布を拡大し，現在では世界中で見られる。体長22～26cm，尾長17～22cm，体重300～400g。同属のクマネズミに似るが，尾は体長より短く，耳も小さく，前に倒したときに目まで達しない。体背面は多くは褐色，腹面と前･後脚は灰白色だが，全身黒色のもの，白色のもの，黒と白のぶちのものなど変化に富む。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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