Distinguishing rat skulls and mouse skulls

[jnb]

Apart from size is there any obvious distinction between the skulls or rats and mice?

Just a question Mrs JB and I were debating as I just found a skull in the attic. It measures as about 29mm which we suspect is (or is this case very much was) a rat, but a quick google shows that despite body size differences there is surprising little difference between the skull sizes in these beasties.

[Meles meles]

I hate to admit this but for a while I have been studying these. There deffinately appears to be a difference in the size of the back of the skull. The jaw size, Rats are bigger and in my experience if you do have a rat skull, Pull out its incisor, If its a rattus norvegicus; You will be greatly surprised that the inscisor reaches right through the jaw and almost through the cheek. Generally speaking the rat is bigger.