Rattus norvegicus

I have fond memories of running rats nearly 35 years ago as an undergraduate. Back then, I helped maintain the rat and pigeon colony, even though the rats made me sneeze. I had to wear a mask to work in there. That space is no more and is now an administrator's office. Today's undergraduates are not likely to remove a laboratory rat from its cage, "gentle" it every day, design animal experiments, and run rats.

When I first came to Southern Arkansas University, there was a small, temporary, rat lab in the department. It was set up every spring semester and dismantled after graduation. One day I noticed small beetles flying in the hall, Tribolium confusum, or confused flour beetles is what they were. They were feeding on the rat chow. Since then, we have had no rats. Can't say I miss them however.

However, rats are still in the picture, research-wise. A New York Times article reviewed some recent rat research including research in dreaming, drug use, and sexual behavior. Some rats even show evidence of meta-cognition (see Jonathon D. Crystal's home page), or knowing what they know.

So the domestic Norway rat, Rattus norvegicus, is still around. They are just harder to find than they used to be.