Short answer: yes — rabbits are much more specialized for hopping and leaping than common rats. Rats are built for a different mix of speed, maneuverability and climbing, so they rarely use sustained hopping as their main way of getting around.
Step-by-step explanation:
- Different evolutionary strategy.
Rabbits evolved as open-ground herbivores that escape predators by fast, straight-line bursts and long jumps. Many rodents, including Rattus norvegicus, evolved as flexible generalists that run, weave, climb and squeeze into burrows. Those different pressures led to different body designs.
- Hindlimb proportions and lever mechanics.
Rabbits have relatively long hindlimbs and elongated foot bones. Long distal limb segments increase stride length and tip the levers so the hind muscles produce powerful, high-velocity extension during a jump. Rats have shorter hindlimbs relative to body size, and forelimbs that are more similar in length to the hindlimbs, producing a more quadrupedal posture that favors running, turning and climbing.
- Muscle and tendon specialization.
Hoppers rely on big hindlimb muscles and long elastic tendons that store and return energy each stride. Rabbits have robust gluteal, hamstring and calf muscles plus long tendons (functionally like a long Achilles). That elastic storage reduces metabolic cost and amplifies power for repeated jumps. Common rats lack the same degree of long, highly elastic tendons and proportionally massive hind muscles, so hopping would be less efficient for them.
- Skeletal layout and pelvic mechanics.
Rabbits' pelvis, hip joint orientation and attachment points give mechanical advantage for forceful hindlimb extension. Rats have a skeletal geometry optimized for quadrupedal locomotion and flexibility (important for climbing, squeezing and changing directions), not for sustained ricochetal propulsion.
- Center of mass and balance.
Rabbits have a rearward bias to their center of mass when in motion, which helps a powerful hindlimb push translate into forward/upward motion. Rats have a more centrally placed mass that helps stability on four feet and quick directional changes.
- Gait and spine use.
Rabbits use saltatory (ricochetal) locomotion: repeated powerful hindlimb thrusts produce long hops. Some bounding animals also use spinal flexion/extension to increase stride. Rats tend to use quadrupedal gaits: walking, trotting, bounding or galloping depending on speed. Those gaits give better maneuverability in cluttered environments and conserve energy for their lifestyle.
- Behavioral and ecological reasons.
Hopping is good for fast escape across open ground but is less useful in cluttered or three-dimensional habitats. Rats forage in complex environments, enter burrows and climb; those tasks favor short strides, tight turns and forelimb use. Also, sustained hopping requires anatomical adaptations and energy economics that rats never strongly selected for.
- What about other rodents?
Some rodents have independently evolved hopping (e.g., kangaroo rats, jerboas). Those species show exactly the anatomical traits described above. That shows hopping is possible for a rodent lineage — but common rats simply evolved a different, more generalist design.
- Practical observation.
Rats can and do make short hops or bounds when startled, when jumping onto objects, or when negotiating obstacles. But they don’t use long, energy-efficient ricochetal hopping as their standard locomotion because their anatomy and ecology favor other modes.
Conclusion: rabbits are specialized saltatory animals with limb proportions, muscles, tendons and skeletal geometry that make hopping powerful and efficient. Rats are generalized quadrupeds whose anatomy prioritizes maneuverability, climbing and burrowing over sustained hopping, so they rarely hop the way rabbits do.
Further reading suggestions: look up 'saltatory locomotion', 'ricochetal locomotion', and comparisons between kangaroo rats (specialist hoppers), rabbits (lagomorph hoppers) and common rats (generalist rodents) for anatomical diagrams and muscle/tendon comparisons.