Key to the species in the desert woodrat group
Appearance
This key to the species of desert woodrat group is borrowed from Patton et al. (2007).
Patton JL, Huckaby DG, and Álvarez-Castañeda ST. 2007. The evolutionary history and a systematic revision of woodrats of the Neotoma lepida group (Vol. 135). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.
1
- Maxillofrontal suture intersecting lacrimal bone anterior to midpoint; small vomerine portion to the incisive foramen; auditory bullae small relative to size of skull; glans penis with or without greatly elongate hood but without strongly reflected distal tip; occurs in coastal California . . . . . 2
- Maxillofrontal suture intersecting lacrimal bone posterior to midpoint; large vomerine portion to the incisive foramen; auditory bullae inflated relative to size of the skull; glans penis with greatly elongate hood and strongly reflected distal tip; occurs east of coastal California in the deserts of the western USA, northeastern Baja California, and northwestern Sonora in Mexico . . . . . 3
2
Return to couplet #1
- Anteroloph of M1 with deep interomedial notch; glans penis thin with elongate baculum and hood, the latter with straight, tapered, and bifurcated fleshy tip... Neotoma bryanti
- Anteroloph of M1 with shallow anteromedial notch; glans penis stout with short baculum and hood, the latter with straight but blunt fleshy tip... Neotoma insularis
3
Return to couplet #1
- Occurs in deserts of eastern California, Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona west and north of the Colorado River.... Neotoma lepida
- Occurs in deserts of northern and western Arizona south and east of the Colorado River.... Neotoma devia