Big-eared woodrat

Big-eared woodrat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Neotominae
Genus: Neotoma
Species:
N. macrotis
Binomial name
Neotoma macrotis
Thomas, 1893

The big-eared woodrat (Neotoma macrotis) is a nocturnal rodent of the woodrat genus Neotoma, in the family Cricetidae.[2] Closely related to, and formerly included in the species Neotoma fuscipes, it is endemic to western North America and occurs west and south of the Salinas Valley from the California Coast Ranges south of Monterey Bay to northern Baja California, as well as in the Sierra Nevada, extending north to the South Fork American River.[3]

The big-eared woodrat is light to dark brown in color, often with a lighter underside. It has characteristically large mobile ears, large eyes, and a long, fur covered tail. It is a primarily arboreal herbivore and functions as an important keystone species in oak and other forest ecosystems.[4]

  1. ^ Álvarez-Castañeda, S.T.; Lacher, T. (2016). "Neotoma macrotis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T14597A22370553. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-2.RLTS.T14597A22370553.en. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  2. ^ Musser, G. G.; Carleton, M. D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 1057. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  3. ^ Matocq, Marjorie D. (August 2002). "Morphological and Molecular Analysis of a Contact Zone in the Neotoma fuscipes Species Complex". Journal of Mammalogy. 83 (3): 866–883. doi:10.1644/1545-1542(2002)083<0866:MAMAOA>2.0.CO;2.
  4. ^ Marianchild, Kate. Secrets of the oak woodlands : plants and animals among California's oaks. Maglinte, Ann Meyer. Berkeley, California. ISBN 978-1-59714-372-1. OCLC 1076269408.