It is hard to guess what a Polynesian rat weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Polynesian rat (Rattus exulans) on average weights 50 grams (0.11 lbs).
The Polynesian rat is from the family Muridae (genus: Rattus). It is usually born with about 2 grams (0 lbs). When reaching adult age, they grow up to 11.9 cm (0′ 5″). On average, Polynesian rats can have babies 3 times per year with a litter size of 3.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
The Polynesian rat, Pacific rat or little rat (Rattus exulans), known to the Māori as kiore, is the third most widespread species of rat in the world behind the brown rat and black rat. The Polynesian rat originated in Southeast Asia, and like its relatives, has become widespread, migrating to most Polynesian islands, including New Zealand, the Marshall Islands, Easter Island, and Hawaii. It shares high adaptability with other rat species extending to many environments, from grasslands to forests. It is also closely associated with humans, who provide easy access to food. It has become a major pest in most areas of its distribution.
Animals of the same family as a Polynesian rat
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Great Key Island giant rat with a size of 27.5 cm (0′ 11″)
- Aegialomys xanthaeolus with a weight of 79 grams
- Romanian hamster with a weight of 97 grams
- Lesser mole-rat with a weight of 189 grams
- Savanna gerbil with a weight of 121 grams
- Thomas’s giant deer mouse with a weight of 111 grams
- Guinean gerbil with a weight of 103 grams
- Cape York rat with a weight of 200 grams
- Namaqua rock rat with a weight of 57 grams
- Red-bellied mosaic-tailed rat with a weight of 78 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Polynesian rat
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Rattus exulans:
- Uinta chipmunk bringing 51 grams to the scale
- Mesquite mouse bringing 40 grams to the scale
- Sumichrast’s vesper rat bringing 59 grams to the scale
- Greater bulldog bat bringing 45 grams to the scale
- Akodon aerosus bringing 60 grams to the scale
- Umboi tube-nosed fruit bat bringing 41 grams to the scale
- Hylaeamys oniscus bringing 49 grams to the scale
- Red-nosed mouse bringing 46 grams to the scale
- Mongolian gerbil bringing 57 grams to the scale
- Mexican water mouse bringing 40 grams to the scale
Animals with the same size as a Polynesian rat
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Polynesian rat:
- Dickey’s deer mouse with a size of 10 cm (0′ 4″)
- Broad-striped dasyure with a size of 12.9 cm (0′ 6″)
- Patagonian opossum with a size of 13.6 cm (0′ 6″)
- Blind mole with a size of 12 cm (0′ 5″)
- Dune hairy-footed gerbil with a size of 9.9 cm (0′ 4″)
- Arends’s golden mole with a size of 12.3 cm (0′ 5″)
- Small Japanese mole with a size of 13.9 cm (0′ 6″)
- Heermann’s kangaroo rat with a size of 11.1 cm (0′ 5″)
- Tullberg’s soft-furred mouse with a size of 10.1 cm (0′ 4″)
- Sagebrush vole with a size of 10.3 cm (0′ 5″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Polynesian rat
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Polynesian rat: