The roof rat’s scientific name is Rattus rattus. Historically, they area associated with having spread the plague or black death during the middle ages. The roof rat is also known as the black rat, even though it is not nec-essarily black in colour, but rather is usually dark brown. Your typical roof rat is between 13 to 18 inches long, including its tail. In fact, it is distinguished from other rats by that tail, which is longer than the rest of its body. Roof rats are sleek, slender and agile. They have larger ears.