| Desert woodrat | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Neotominae |
| Genus: | Neotoma |
| Species: | N. lepida |
| Binomial name | |
| Neotoma lepida Thomas, 1893 | |
Thedesert woodrat (Neotoma lepida) is a species ofpack rat native to desert regions of westernNorth America.
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Desert woodrats are relatively small for pack rats, measuring 28 to 39 cm (11 to 15 in) in length, including a 12 to 20 cm (4.7 to 7.9 in) tail. They weigh from 122 to 350 g (4.3 to 12.3 oz), with males being larger than females. Their coloring varies between individuals, and can be anything from pale gray to cinnamon to near-black. Regardless of the color on the rest of the body, however, the animal's underparts and feet are always white, while the otherwise pale fur on the throat region is gray at its base. The tail is distinctly bicolored, and has more hair, and fewer visible scales, than the tails ofbrown rats. Desert woodrats have a narrow snout, long whiskers, and relatively long ears that are almost the length of the hind feet.[3]
Desert woodrats range from southeasternOregon and southwesternIdaho, south throughNevada and westernUtah toCalifornia in theUS, andBaja California and extreme northwesternSonora inMexico.[1] They are generally found in sagebrush scrub areas, inchaparral, and in deserts and rocky slopes with scattered cactus,yucca,pine/juniper, and other low vegetation, at elevations up to 2,900 m (9,500 ft).[3] They are most abundant in rocky areas with numerous crevices or rock piles in which they can seek shelter from predators.[4]
Twenty three subspecies were recognised, many of them restricted to small islands in theGulf of California.[3] However,Neotoma insularis (Townsend, 1912), is now recognized to be distinct from N. lepida following the ASM and IUCN assessments.[1][5]
They feed on beans and leaves ofmesquite, onjuniper, and on parts of availablecacti, apparently without getting injured by the spines. They also eatcreosote bushes,thistles,Ephedra,Mustard plants,sagebrush, andbuckwheat. They will also eat other green vegetation,seeds,fruits,acorns, andpine nuts. In desert habitats, they are highly dependent uponprickly pear cacti for water balance, although they can be sustained on creosote year-round.[3] Although they are capable of eating food containing high levels of resins and oxalic acid, such as the leaves of creosote bushes,[6] these affect their water balance and limit their ability to eat other foods, limiting the growth of the woodrats' population in areas where such plants are common.[7]
Predators includesnakes,owls,hawks,coyotes,foxes,weasels, and other carnivorous mammals. They are also commonlyparasitized bybot fly larvae.
Desert woodrats breed in the spring and summer, and give birth to litters of up to five young after a gestation period of 30 to 36 days. The young weigh about 10 g (0.35 oz) at birth, and are blind, with only the tips of their hairs visible. Their eyes open after about ten days. The teeth of newborn desert woodrats are initially splayed apart, creating a hexagonal opening between them, with which they clamp themselves to their mother's teats so firmly that they are difficult to separate. The teeth achieve their normal shape after about twelve days, but the young are not completely weaned until around four weeks of age.[3] They live up to five years in captivity.[8]
Desert woodrats are primarily nocturnal[9] and are aggressively solitary. They may defend water sources, such assucculent plants, against other species, and perhaps prevent other species from obtaining water during droughts.[citation needed]
Desert woodrats sometimes appropriate the burrows ofground squirrels orkangaroo rats,[citation needed] and will fortify the entrance with several cubic metres of sticks and joints collected fromjumping andteddy-bear chollas. This provides a formidable defense against predators. Living quarters are also often built against rock crevices, at the base of creosote or cactus plants, or in the lower branches of trees.[3] Rock crevices appear preferred where available, but pack rats generally adapt to any situation.
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Woodrats construct houses for nesting, food caching, and predator escape. These can have up to six entrances and eight internal chambers, including both nests and food caches. Houses 36 cm (14 in) high and around 100 cm (39 in) across at the base are not unusual.[3] Nests are constructed of dried vegetation, usually fibrous grass parts or shredded stems.
Males mark their territory by rubbing themselves on the ground, depositing muskysebum secreted by largesebaceous glands on their abdomen. Females, however, scent mark by first digging, and then rubbing their flanks, legs or cheeks on the excavated soil.[10] They are active year-round.
