Neotoma macrotis

Big-eared Woodrat
(*Neotoma macrotis*)
Big-eared Woodrat (Neotoma macrotis)
Range
Taxonomic classification
Order:	Rodentia
Suborder:	Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:	Myomorphi
Superfamily:	Muroidea
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Neotominae
Tribe:	Neotomini
Genus:	Neotoma
Binomial details
	Neotoma macrotis O. Thomas, 1893
Other resources
	Full taxonomic details at MDD

The Big-eared Woodrat (Neotoma macrotis) was split from the Dusky-footed Woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes) by Matocq (2002).

Description

From Ceballos (ed., 2014) for Mexico: "Neotoma macrotis is a medium-sized rat. The dorsal coloration varies from gray to brown and the belly is white. The feet are brown at the base and white in the mid-part. The tail is slightly bicolored and almost naked. The ears are wide and have a moderate amount of hair (Hall, 1981; Jameson and Peeters, 1988)."

The degree to which the dorsal of surface of the hind feet are covered in dark hairs appears to be variable.

The hind foot of a Big-eared Woodrat (Neotoma macrotis) observed by maarimba15 in San Diego, California.
The hind foot of a Big-eared Woodrat (Neotoma macrotis) observed by jessicaplein in San Diego, California.
The hind foot of a Big-eared Woodrat (Neotoma macrotis) observed by Rachel Allingham in San Diego, California.
The hind foot of a Big-eared Woodrat (Neotoma macrotis) observed by funginymph in Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, California.

Museum type specimens

Holotype: USNM 3651/3597. Neotoma macrotis simplex. Adult male. Tehachapi Mountains, California. Collected 1857–1858.
Holotype: USNM 3651/3597. Neotoma macrotis simplex. Adult male. Tehachapi Mountains, California. Collected 1857–1858.
Holotype: USNM 25391/32804. Neotoma macrotis simplex. Adult male. Lone Pine, Owens Valley, Inyo County, California. Collected 25 December 1890.
Holotype: USNM 25391/32804. Neotoma macrotis simplex. Adult male. Lone Pine, Owens Valley, Inyo County, California. Collected 25 December 1890.
Holotype: USNM 64439. Neotoma macrotis streatori. Adult male. Carbondale, Amador County, California. Collected 4 April 1894.
Holotype: USNM 64439. Neotoma macrotis streatori. Adult male. Carbondale, Amador County, California. Collected 4 April 1894.

External measurements

Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.

Part of range	Reference	Total length	Tail length	Hindfoot length	Ear length	Mass
not reported	Ceballos (editor, 2014)	335–468	158–241	32–47	31–34	184–358

Skull

Holotype: USNM 3651/3597. Neotoma macrotis simplex. Adult male. Tehachapi Mountains, California. Collected 1857–1858. Dorsal view of the skull.
Holotype: USNM 3651/3597. Neotoma macrotis simplex. Adult male. Tehachapi Mountains, California. Collected 1857–1858. Ventral view of the skull.
Holotype: USNM 3651/3597. Neotoma macrotis simplex. Adult male. Tehachapi Mountains, California. Collected 1857–1858. Lateral view of the skull.
Holotype: USNM 3651/3597. Neotoma macrotis simplex. Adult male. Tehachapi Mountains, California. Collected 1857–1858. Dorsal view of the mandible.
Holotype: USNM 3651/3597. Neotoma macrotis simplex. Adult male. Tehachapi Mountains, California. Collected 1857–1858. Lateral view of the left mandible.
Holotype: USNM 3651/3597. Neotoma macrotis simplex. Adult male. Tehachapi Mountains, California. Collected 1857–1858. Upper molars. Arrows point to the anteromedial flexus of the anteroloph of each upper molar (M1).

Similar species

Comparison with Neotoma fuscipes

From Coyner et al. (2014): "We found clear genetic evidence of hybridization between N. fuscipes and N. macrotis where they come into contact along the Nacimiento River of central California. The spatial extent of sympatry between pure forms is limited to less than 1 km within a narrow strip of riparian habitat. The vast majority of admixed individuals are limited to the zone of sympatry and areas immediately adjacent, but a few can be detected along the entire 7 km study area."

Comparison with other Neotoma species

From Carraway & Verts (1991), which at the time N. fuscipes included N. macrotis: "N. fuscipes can be separated from Neotoma with which it is sympatric or parapatric by its grayish-brown dorsum, usually pale or white venter, sooty-colored pelage on top of the hind feet, and the faintly bicolored, scantly haired, terete tail covered with short, dark-sooty colored hairs (Howell, 1926; Jameson and Peeters, 1988). N. lepida has a ventral pelage composed of hairs gray at the base and white at the tip and a distinctly bicolored tail; N. cinerea has a pale gray dorsum and a long bushy tail; N. albigula has throat hairs white to the base and a bicolored tail (Jameson and Peeters, 1988). Neotoma fuscipes has a longer tail, hind foot, and ear than N. lepida, and a longer ear than N. albigula (Jameson and Peeters, 1988)."

References

Ceballos G, editor. 2014. Mammals of Mexico. Baltimore (MD, USA): Johns Hopkins University Press.

Coyner BS, Murphy PJ, Matocq MD. 2015. Hybridization and asymmetric introgression across a narrow zone of contact between Neotoma fuscipes and N. macrotis (Rodentia: Cricetidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 115(1): 162-172.

Hall ER. 1981. The mammals of North America. Second edition. John Wiley & Sons, New York.

Jameson EW, Peeters HJ. 1988. California mammals (Vol. 52). Berkeley (CA, USA): University of California Press.

Matocq MD. 2002. Phylogeographical structure and regional history of the dusky‐footed woodrat, Neotoma fuscipes. Molecular Ecology 11(2):229-242.

Thomas O. 1893-09-01. On two new members of the genus Heteromys and two of Neotoma. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (6)12(69):233-235.