rat
A medium-sized rodent; notorious to many as a pest and transmitter of disease, yet to others they are valued as research subjects or even as pets.
Japanese does not have distinct words for "mouse" and "rat", using the word nezumi (鼠) for both. Nevertheless, Danbooru distinguishes these two kinds of rodents:
- Mice are smaller, with round, proportionally larger ears.
- Rats are larger, with proportionally smaller ears.
- Rats and not mice appear in the context of the Chinese zodiac and in the Chinese sexagenary cycle.
- Mouse ears / mouse tail tag is applied to both rodent ears / tail.
See forum #46249