- Eastern Woodrat
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Eastern Woodrat Neotoma floridana smalli Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Cricetidae Genus: Neotoma Species: N. floridana Binomial name Neotoma floridana
(Ord, 1818)The Eastern Woodrat (Neotoma floridana)[2], is a species of pack rat that is native to the central and eastern United States.[3] Its range extends from the latitude of southeastern New York south to the Gulf of Mexico. It has been recovered as a fossil from late Pleistocene deposits in southeastern New Mexico, several hundred miles southwest of its nearest current range.[citation needed]
Neotoma magister was previously considered to be within N. floridana, but the two are now considered to be separate species.[1]
As with most members of the genus[citation needed], it feeds opportunistically on nuts, seeds, fungi, buds, stems, roots, foliage and fruits.[1] In the southern states it often lives in holes in the ground or hollow trees, constructing large nests.[citation needed]
Predators include black rat snakes and long-tailed weasels.[1]
The Eastern Woodrat has four clawed digits and a thumb on the front limbs, and five clawed digits on its rear limbs.[3]
References
Notes
Bibliography
- Harris, A. H. 1984. Neotoma in the Late Pleistocene of New Mexico and Chihuahua. Special Publications, Carnegie Museum of Natural History 8:164-178.
- Linzey, A.V., Jordan, R.A. & Hammerson, G. (2008). "Neotoma floridana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2009.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/42650. Retrieved 04 February 2010.
- Monty, Anne-Marie & Emerson, Robert E. (2003). "Eastern Woodrat". In Feldhamer, George A. et al.. Wild mammals of North America: biology, management, and conservation. JHU Press. ISBN 9780801874161. http://books.google.com/books?id=-xQalfqP7BcC.
- Wiley, R. W. 1980. Neotoma floridana. Mammalian Species, No. 139:1-7.
Categories:- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Fauna of the Eastern United States
- Mammals of the United States
- Neotominae
- Cricetidae stubs
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