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Neotoma

From WhiskerWiki

Genus Neotoma
Taxonomic classification
Order:Rodentia
Suborder:Supramyomorpha
Infraorder:Myomorphi
Superfamily:Muroidea
Family:Cricetidae
Subfamily:Neotominae
Tribe:Neotomini

Neotoma is a genus of woodrats (also called packrats for their collecting behavior) found in North America. The genus contains 23 recognized species. Thirteen species are found in the United States. They have stout bodies and long tails. The pelage of Neotoma has a smooth appearance, unlike the grizzled appearance of Sigmodon cotton rats.

Species in the United States

Species not pictured: Big-eared Woodrat (Neotoma macrotis).

  • White-throated Woodrat (Neotoma albigula) photographed by Rick Overson and Laura Steger in Arizona. A moderately large, brownish woodrat with a distinctly bicolored tail. The undersides and feet are white. The hairs on the throat are white to their base.
  • Bryant's Woodrat (Neotoma bryanti) observed in Baja California Sur, Mexico, by Alan Harper. A large woodrat with large ears. The dorsal coloration varies geographically. The underparts are white or off-white with a buff tint. The feet are white.
  • Bushy-tailed Woodrat (Neotoma cinerea). A large woodrat with a bushy tail. Color is typically ochraceous buff to gray often washed with black. Underparts and feet are white.
  • Arizona Woodrat (Neotoma devia). A small, dark woodrat with white feet.
  • Eastern Woodrat (Neotoma floridana). A medium-sized woodrat with brownish-gray colroation. Adults in the summer are more brightly colored above, tending toward cinnamon. Underparts and feet are white. Tail is strongly bicolored.
  • Dusky-footed Woodrat (Neotoma fuscipes) observed by Christian Naventi in Inverness, California. A large wood rat with a grayish brown dorsum and a pale or white venter. The feet are brown at the base, with the distal half white.
  • Desert Woodrat (Neotoma lepida) photographed in Arizona by Rick Overson and Laura Steger. ©Rick Overson. A small yellow-buff to buffy gray woodrat. The tail is sharply bicolored in younger individuals. The underparts are whitish to buff. The feet are white.
  • White-toothed Woodrat (Neotoma leucodon) observed in Durango, Mexico, by gabinus2003. A medium-sized woodrat with large ears and dull pinkish buff upperparts. Underparts and feet are white. The hairs on the throat are white to their base.
  • Allegheny Woodrat (Neotoma magister) observed by Amiel Hopkins in Pendleton County, West Virginia. A medium-sized woodrat with pelage that is soft and gray or brownish-gray on the dorsum and white on the ventrum.
  • Mexican Woodrat (Neotoma mexicana) photographed by Rick Overson and Laura Steger in Arizona. A medium-sized woodrat with variable dorsal coloration ranging from dark gray to grayish buff to grayish yellow. Underparts and feet are white.
  • Southern Plains Woodrat (Neotoma micropus) observed in Texas by Greg Lasley. A large, gray-colored woodrat with large ears and relatively short, heavy, sparsely haired tail. Underparts and feet are white.
  • Stephens's Woodrat (Neotoma stephensi) photographed by Rick Overson and Laura Steger in Arizona. A relatively small woodrat that is pale yellow to buff-gray in color. Dusky coloration extends down the top of hind foot one-fourth to one-third the distance below the ankle. The tail is somewhat bushy.

Range maps

Available taxon pages

The following subgenera are available on WhiskerWiki for this genus:

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