Hispid cotton rat

Hispid cotton rat
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Sigmodontinae
Genus: Sigmodon
Species:
S. hispidus
Binomial name
Sigmodon hispidus
Say and Ord, 1825

The hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) is a rat long thought to occur in parts of South America, Central America, and southern North America. However, recent taxonomic revisions, based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data, have split this widely distributed species into three separate species (S. hispidus, S. toltecus, and S. hirsutus). The distribution of S. hispidus ranges from Arizona in the west to Virginia to the east and from the Platte River in Nebraska in the north to, likely, the Rio Grande in the south, where it meets the northern edge of the distribution of S. toltecus (formerly S. h. toltecus).[2] Adult size is total length 202–340 mm (8.0–13.4 in); tail 87–122 mm (3.4–4.8 in), frequently broken or stubbed; hind foot 29–35 mm (1.1–1.4 in); ear 16–20 mm (0.63–0.79 in); mass 50–250 g (1.8–8.8 oz).[3] They have been used as laboratory animals.[4]

  1. ^ Cassola, F. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Sigmodon hispidus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T20213A115157685. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T20213A22356086.en.
  2. ^ Carroll, D. S., L. L. Peppers, and R. D. Bradley. (2004). "Molecular systematics and phylogeography of the Sigmodon hispidus species group". pp. 85–98, in Contribuciones Mastozoologicas en Homenaje a Bernardo Villa (Sanchez-Cordero V. y R. A. Medellin Eds.) Instituto de Biologia e Instituto de Ecologia, UNAM, Mexico.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference r70 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference j2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).