Eastern woodrat

Eastern woodrat
Neotoma floridana smalli
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
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 pack rat 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. Retrieved 4 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 978-0-8018-7416-1. 
• Wiley, R. W. 1980. Neotoma floridana. Mammalian Species, No. 139:1-7.