About: Predator Rats

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About: Predator Rats Sponge Permalink

An Entity of Type : owl:Thing, within Data Space : 134.155.108.49:8890 associated with source dataset(s)

The place of most of the carnivorans, as the principal mammal predators, is now occupied by a variety of mammal groups in different parts of the world. In temperate regions the descendants of particular rodents occupy this niche.

Attributes	Values
rdfs:label	Predator Rats
rdfs:comment	The place of most of the carnivorans, as the principal mammal predators, is now occupied by a variety of mammal groups in different parts of the world. In temperate regions the descendants of particular rodents occupy this niche.
dcterms:subject	After Man After Man Rodents Future animals After Man species Mammals Animals Mammals Animals Future animals After Man species Rodents Carnivores Carnivores
abstract	The place of most of the carnivorans, as the principal mammal predators, is now occupied by a variety of mammal groups in different parts of the world. In temperate regions the descendants of particular rodents occupy this niche. When the carnivorans were at their peak, the rodents, particularly the rats, began to acquire a taste for meat and animal waste. The spread of humankind to all parts of the world encouraged their proliferation and after humanity's demise they continued to flourish in the refuse created by the disruption and decay of human civilization. It is this adaptability that has ensured their survival. Despite the specialized nature of their teeth, rats were able to live on a wide range of foods. At the front of their mouths they had two sharp gnawing incisors, which continued to grow throughout life to compensate for wear and which were separated by a gap from the back teeth. These were equipped with flat surfaces for grinding vegetable matter. This is very different from the typical carnivore dentition, which had cutting incisors at the front followed by a pair of stabbing canines and a row of shearing teeth at the back. As the rats expanded to occupy the niches left by the dwindling carnivorans their teeth evolved to fulfil their new role. The gnawing incisors developed long, stabbing points and were equipped with blades that could cut into and grip their prey. The gap between the incisors and the back teeth became smaller and the grinding molars became shearing teeth that worked with a scissor action. To make the dentition effective the jaw articulation changed from a rotary grinding motion into a more powerful up-and-down action. This dentition was crucial in the development of the predator rats and allowed them to radiate into the numerous forms and varieties seen throughout the Posthomic world today.

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