38. Roof Rat, Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758)

(IUCN Red List: LC)

Subspecies: R. r. rattus (Linnaeus, 1758) .

Distribution: Abundant with an extremely wide distribution in almost all habitats in human settlements across the country (Fig. 44).

Previous records: Aleppo (Russell 1756), Damascus and Hamah (Aharoni 1932), Qal’at Al-Hosson (Nadachowski et al. 1990), Kafaria, Jisr ech-Choghur, Qal’at Al-Hosson, Hamra, Shah Ranaz (Shehab et al. 2004), Al-Furunlok, Abu Qubays, Jabal Abd Al-Aziz (Daoud & Khalil 2009a, b, c).

Recent records: Aleppo, Damascus, Hasaka, Jaramana, Qatana, and Sweida (2020–2021).