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Variety
Pet rats are quite variable in appearance -- they may have
different colors and markings, their fur may be straight or wavy,
they may have no fur at all, their ears may be low-set, they may have
long or short or absent tails.
This kaleidoscope of rat variation is loosely divided into
varieties or types .
A variety is arbitrarily defined as a group of rats that share
a single physical trait. For example, rats with curly fur belong to
the "rex" variety, rats with low-set ears are called "dumbo," rats
without hair are called "hairless."
Two rats belong to the same variety if they share the trait in
question, regardless of the rats' ancestry. Also, a single rat may
belong to more than one variety, such "dumbo" and "rex."
A variety is therefore a purely descriptive category, it
says nothing about the biological relationship between rats
So, a white rat with a dark brown head and dorsal stripe and curly
fur is called a "chocolate hooded rex."
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