Vermin or Misunderstood? Exploring the Evolution of Rats

Please enjoy this episode focusing on the much maligned rats, a successful group of Murine Rodents that have managed to achieve a near global range thanks to their association with humans. Unfortunately, this has also led to several species developing into serious invasive pests. https://www.patreon.com/c/DrPolaris?vanity=user Thumbnail art by Suzanne Helmigh Sources used for this video: Achmadi, A.S.; Fahri, F.; Gazzard, A.; Inayah, N.; Lanusi, A.A.; Nangoy, M.; Nurdin, M.R.T.J.P.; Rowe, K.C. (2024). "Hyorhinomys stuempkei". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2024 e.T92441853A233247183. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T92441853A233247183.en. Baig, M.; Khan, S.; Eager, H.; Atkulwar, A.; Searle, J. B. (2019). "Phylogeography of the black rat Rattus rattus in India and the implications for its dispersal history in Eurasia". Biological Invasions. 21 (2): 417–433. Bibcode:2019BiInv..21..417B. doi:10.1007/s10530-018-1830-0. S2CID 67790305. Combs, M.; Puckett, E.E.; Richardson, J.; Mims, D.; Munshi-South, J. (2017). "Spatial population genomics of the brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) in New York City". Molecular Ecology. 27 (1): 83–98. doi:10.1111/mec.14437. PMID 29165929. S2CID 13739507. Esselstyn, J.A., Achmadi, A.S. Rowe, K.C. (2012). "Evolutionary novelty in a rat with no molars". Biology Letters. 8 (6): 990–993. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0574. PMC 3497122. PMID 22915626. Harper, Grant A.; Bunbury, Nancy (2015-01-01). "Invasive rats on tropical islands: Their population biology and impacts on native species". Global Ecology and Conservation. 3: 607–627. Bibcode:2015GEcoC...3..607H. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2015.02.010. ISSN 2351-9894. Kimura, Yuri; Jacobs, Louis L.; Flynn, Lawrence J. (2013-10-14). "Lineage-Specific Responses of Tooth Shape in Murine Rodents (Murinae, Rodentia) to Late Miocene Dietary Change in the Siwaliks of Pakistan". PLOS ONE. 8 (10) e76070. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...876070K. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0076070. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3796524. PMID 24155885. Pagès, Marie; Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Chaval, Yannick; Mortelliti, Alessio; Nicolas, Violaine; Wells, Konstans; Michaux, Johan R.; Lazzari, Vincent (2016). "Molecular phylogeny of South-East Asian arboreal murine rodents". Zoologica Scripta. 45 (4): 349–364. doi:10.1111/zsc.12161. hdl:10072/101842. ISSN 1463-6409. S2CID 86285898. Rowe, Kevin C.; Achmadi, Anang S.; Fabre, Pierre-Henri; Schenk, John J.; Steppan, Scott J.; Esselstyn, Jacob A. (2019). "Oceanic islands of Wallacea as a source for dispersal and diversification of murine rodents". Journal of Biogeography. 46 (12): 2752–2768. Bibcode:2019JBiog..46.2752R. doi:10.1111/jbi.13720. ISSN 1365-2699. S2CID 208583483. Sawabe, K.; Natahura, Y. (October 2016). "Extensive distribution models of the harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) in different landscapes". Global Ecology and Conservation. 8: 108–115. Bibcode:2016GEcoC...8..108S. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2016.08.011. Shionosaki, K.; Yamada, F.; Ishikawa, T.; Shibata, S. (2015). "Feral cat diet and predation on endangered endemic mammals on a biodiversity hot spot (Amami–Ohshima Island, Japan)". Wildlife Research. 42 (4): 343. Bibcode:2015WildR..42..343S. doi:10.1071/WR14161. Steppan, S. J.; Schenk, J. J. (2017). "Muroid rodent phylogenetics: 900-species tree reveals increasing diversification rates". PLOS One. 12 (8) e0183070. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0183070. PMC 5559066. PMID 28813483. Thomson, Vicki; Wiewel, Andrew; Chinen, Aldo; Maryanto, Ibnu; Sinaga, M. H.; How, Ric; Aplin, Ken; Suzuki, Hitoshi (2018). "A perspective for resolving the systematics of Rattus, the vertebrates with the most influence on human welfare". Zootaxa. 4459 (3): 431–452. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4459.3.2. PMID 30314119. S2CID 52975664. Thomson, Vicki; Aplin, Ken P.; Cooper, Alan; Hisheh, Susan; Suzuki, Hitoshi; Maryanto, Ibnu; Yap, Grace; Donnellan, Stephen C. (2014-03-17). Lalueza-Fox, Carles (ed.). "Molecular Genetic Evidence for the Place of Origin of the Pacific Rat, Rattus exulans". PLOS ONE. 9 (3) e91356. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...991356T. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0091356. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3956674. PMID 24637896. Veatch, E. Grace; Tocheri, Matthew W.; Sutikna, Thomas; McGrath, Kate; Wahyu Saptomo, E.; Jatmiko; Helgen, Kristofer M. (May 2019). "Temporal shifts in the distribution of murine rodent body size classes at Liang Bua (Flores, Indonesia) reveal new insights into the paleoecology of Homo floresiensis and associated fauna". Journal of Human Evolution. 130: 45–60. Bibcode:2019JHumE.130...45V. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.02.002. hdl:2440/121139. PMID 31010543.