A mouse (plural mice) is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house
mouse (Mus musculus). It is also a popular pet. The American white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and the deer mouse also
sometimes live in houses. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds
such as hawks and eagles. They are known to invade homes for food and occasionally shelter.
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus,
the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus. Many members
of other rodent genera and families are also called rats and share many characteristics with true rats. Rats are typically
distinguished from mice by their size; rats are generally large muroid rodents, while mice are generally small muroid rodents.
The House Mouse (Mus musculus) is one of the most numerous species of the genus Mus commonly termed a mouse. It is a small
mammal and a rodent. Laboratory mice belong to strains of House Mice and are some of the most important model organisms in
biology and medicine; they are by far the most commonly used genetically altered laboratory mammal.
The brown rat, common rat, sewer rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat, Norwegian rat, or wharf rat (Rattus norvegicus) is one of the
best known and most common rats. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown or grey rodent with a body up to 25 cm (10 in)
long, and a similar tail length; the male weighs on average 350 g (12 oz) and the female 250 g (9 oz).
The Polynesian Rat, or Pacific 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 originates in Southeast Asia but, like its cousins,
has become well travelled - infiltrating Fiji and most Polynesian islands, including New Zealand, Easter Island and Hawaii.
It shares the ability to easily adapt to many different types of environments, from grasslands to forests.
The Harvest Mouse, Micromys minutus is a small rodent native to Europe and Asia. They are typically found in fields of cereal
crops such as wheat and oats as well as long grass and hedgerows. They have reddish-brown fur with white underparts and a
naked, highly prehensile tail. An adult has a head and body between five and seven centimeters with a similar length of tail
and weighs five to eleven grams. This mouse eats chiefly seeds and insects but also nectar and fruit.
