How big does a Plains rat get? Here is an overview over the average adult age:
A grown Plains rat (Pseudomys australis) reaches an average size of 12.1 cm (0′ 5″).
When born, they have an average size of 0 cm (0′ 0″). During their lifetime of about 5.58 years, they grow from 4 grams (0.01 lbs) to 53 grams (0.12 lbs). A Plains rat has 3 babies at once. The Plains rat (genus: Pseudomys) is a member of the family Muridae.
As a reference: Humans reach an average body size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) while carrying 62 kg (137 lbs). A human woman is pregnant for 280 days (40 weeks) and on average become 75 years old.
The plains rat (Pseudomys australis), also known as the plains mouse, is a conilurine rodent native to arid and semi-arid Australia. Referred to as the pallyoora or yarlie by Indigenous groups, the plains rat was once widely distributed across central Australia, including north-west New South Wales and south-west Queensland; however, habitat degradation due to grazing, introduced predators and drought have contributed to its decline. Consequently, the plains rat has been listed as ‘presumed extinct’ in New South Wales and Victoria, ‘endangered’ in the Northern Territory and Queensland and ‘vulnerable’ in Western Australia and South Australia. While recent research has indicated the presence of the plains rat in areas such as the Fowlers Gap and Strzelecki Desert regions of New South Wales and within the Diamantina National Park in Queensland, there are only five sub-populations currently recognised nationally, none of which coincide with recent discoveries of the plains rat. As the current population trend of the plains rat has been listed as ‘declining’ by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the IUCN conservation status for the species is ‘vulnerable’.
Animals of the same family as a Plains rat
We found other animals of the Muridae family:
- Oecomys cleberi with a weight of 73 grams
- Cerradomys subflavus with a size of 16 cm (0′ 7″)
- Melanomys robustulus with a weight of 53 grams
- Gerbil mouse with 4 babies per litter
- Hartwig’s soft-furred mouse with a size of 11.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Andean leaf-eared mouse with a weight of 53 grams
- Bougainville mosaic-tailed rat with a size of 14.6 cm (0′ 6″)
- Southern African spiny mouse with 2 babies per litter
- Grey dwarf hamster with 5 babies per litter
- Broad-toothed mouse with a size of 16.6 cm (0′ 7″)
Animals with the same size as a Plains rat
Not that size really matters, but it makes things comparable. So here are a couple of animals that are as big as Plains rat:
- African wading rat with a size of 12.5 cm (0′ 5″)
- Somali hedgehog with a size of 12.9 cm (0′ 6″)
- Gleaning mouse with a size of 10.2 cm (0′ 5″)
- Sculptor squirrel with a size of 12 cm (0′ 5″)
- Little woolly mouse opossum with a size of 13.7 cm (0′ 6″)
- Desert kangaroo rat with a size of 13.8 cm (0′ 6″)
- Geoffroy’s rousette with a size of 10.7 cm (0′ 5″)
- Antechinus wilhelmina with a size of 10.6 cm (0′ 5″)
- Sulawesi harpy fruit bat with a size of 14.4 cm (0′ 6″)
- Habbema dasyure with a size of 11 cm (0′ 5″)
Animals with the same litter size as a Plains rat
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (3) as a Plains rat:
- Rusty-bellied brush-furred rat
- Bailey’s pocket mouse
- Ring-tailed cat
- Major’s pine vole
- Woodland dormouse
- Water deer
- Pale kangaroo mouse
- Juniper vole
- Small Japanese mole
- Yucatan squirrel
Animals with the same life expectancy as a Plains rat
Completely different animals, but becoming as old as a Plains rat:
- Canyon bat with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Brown-eared woolly opossum with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Long-tailed dunnart with an average maximal age of 5 years
- European water vole with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Scaly-tailed possum with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Desert hedgehog with an average maximal age of 4.5 years
- White-tailed rat with an average maximal age of 6 years
- Hairy-tailed mole with an average maximal age of 5 years
- Spix’s yellow-toothed cavy with an average maximal age of 4.58 years
- Desert hedgehog with an average maximal age of 4.5 years
Animals with the same weight as a Plains rat
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Pseudomys australis:
- Sambirano mouse lemur bringing 49 grams to the scale
- Single-striped grass mouse bringing 50 grams to the scale
- Melanomys robustulus bringing 53 grams to the scale
- South African pouched mouse bringing 50 grams to the scale
- Bunchgrass leaf-eared mouse bringing 43 grams to the scale
- Ega long-tongued bat bringing 49 grams to the scale
- Handleyomys fuscatus bringing 49 grams to the scale
- Emin’s gerbil bringing 52 grams to the scale
- Midas free-tailed bat bringing 45 grams to the scale
- Ivory Coast rat bringing 52 grams to the scale