Little Indochinese Field Rat

The little Indochinese field rat is a common, long-tailed Rattus of mainland Southeast Asia. Its type locality is Sakaerat in eastern Thailand. It was historically included within the Losea rat, but molecular analysis of regional black-rat relatives showed that it is a distinct lineage closer to the Asian house rat complex (Mammal Diversity Database; molecular systematic study).

Verified distribution is concentrated in northern and central Thailand and the Vientiane Plain of north-western Laos. Older Thai specimens labelled as Rattus losea have subsequently been identified genetically as this species, so historical records require care. The opened sources do not provide dependable species-specific measurements, diet or reproduction, and these are therefore omitted (Thai National Parks species account; molecular systematic study).