TheNorwayrat(Rattusnorvegicus),alsoknownasthebrownrat,commonrat,orsewerrat,isawidespreadrodentspecies.OriginatingfromnorthernChina,ithasspreadgloballythroughhumanactivity.Theseratsarelargerthanblackrats,withastockybody,bluntnose,andsmallears.Theirfuristypicallybrownorgray.Norwayratsarehighlyadaptableandthriveinurbanenvironments,oftenlivingnearhumans.Theyareomnivorous,eatinggrains,meat,garbage,andevenothersmallanimals.Knownfortheirintelligenceandstrongsurvivalskills,theycancarrydiseases,makingthemasignificantpest.Theyliveincolonies,digburrows,andaremostlynocturnal.Withahighreproductiverate,asinglefemalecanproducedozensofoffspringperyear.Despitetheirnegativereputation,theyarealsousedinscientificresearchduetotheirbiologicalsimilaritytohumans.
