Geographic Range
Neotoma lepida
is found from southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon south through Nevada and
western Utah.
Neotoma lepida
is also found in southern California, including the coastal region, and along the
Baja California peninsula. Desert woodrats also occur on several islands in the Gulf
of California.
- Other Geographic Terms
- island endemic
Habitat
Neotoma lepida
is often found in areas with succulent vegetation, which may be used as a water source.
They prefer habitats with moderate to dense canopies. This species is found in juniper-sagebrush,
creosote bush scrub, Joshua tree woodlands, scrub oak woodlands, and pinon-juniper
woodlands.
Neotoma lepida
is abundant in rock outcrops, and rocky cliffs and slopes.
- Habitat Regions
- temperate
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- desert or dune
- chaparral
- forest
- scrub forest
Physical Description
Dorsal pelage of
N. lepida
ranges from pale, buffy-gray to dark-gray, and from cinnamon to black. The underside
of
N. lepida
is white, as are the feet and throat. The tail is markedly bi-colored.
Neotoma lepida
has a slender rostrum, and a narrow skull interorbitally.
Neotoma lepida
has no frontoparietal ridges, and the incisive foramina of this species are long
and narrow.
N. lepida
has a dental formula of 1/1, 0/0, 0/0, 3/3 = 16. The cheek teeth are hypsodont, and
flat crowned.
The manus of
N. lepida
has 4 digits, and the pes has 5 digits.
Most body dimensions of
N. lepida
are sexually dimorphic. The total length feamles ranges from 281 to 392 mm, with
males showing greater variation, and ranging in length from 276 to 407 mm. The tail
length of females ranges from 122 to 192 mm, whereas males have a slightly longer
tail of 129 to 198 mm. Hind foot lengths for females range from 27 to 38 mm. Males
have hind foot lengths ranging from 28 to 38 mm. Ear length of females ranges from
27 to 38 mm, and of males ranges from 28 to 38 mm. Females weigh less than males,
ranging from 122 to 240 g compared to the 132 to 350 g weight of males.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- homoiothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- male larger
Reproduction
Sexual behavior in males requires that the females both emit attractive odors and
engage in precopulatory behaviors. Mates may communicate by intense sniffing, vocalization,
hop and dart and ear-wiggling responses, grooming, and foot thumping. Males show a
pattern of multiple mounts and ejaculation. Although not specifically reported, the
sexual dimorphism of these animals suggests that mating is polygynous.
Neotoma lepida
breeds from October to May. The gestation period is 30 to 36 days, with an average
litter size of 2.7 young. Although these animals have been observed to be polyestrous
in lab, They probably breed only once per year in the wild. Weaning occurs between
27 to 40 days of age, and reproductive maturity is reached by 2 to 3 months of age.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- fertilization
- viviparous
Nesting is solitary for
N. lepida
. Nests are made of dried vegetation. Females have a strong maternal instinct, and
will readily accept orphaned young. Lactating females have been observed to be much
more aggressive to intruders than males or non-lactating females. The role of males
in parental care has not been documented.
- Parental Investment
- no parental involvement
- altricial
-
pre-fertilization
-
protecting
- female
-
protecting
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- female
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
protecting
- female
-
protecting
Lifespan/Longevity
Behavior
Neotoma lepida
is aggressively solitary, although this aggressiveness apparently increases when
a female has young. These rats may defend succulent plants and other water sources
against other species as well as conspecifics.
These animals are active yearlong. They are mainly nocturnal, but can be crepuscular,
and occasionally diurnal.
Neotoma lepida
is known to move around different amounts, depending on habitat, from 14 m per night
in coastal sage scrub to 80 m per night in sagebrush-juniper habitats.
Houses of desert woodrats are made from twigs, sticks, cactus parts, or rocks. They
prefer to build houses in rock crevices, bases of cactus, or in the lower branches
of trees.
- Key Behaviors
- terricolous
- nocturnal
- crepuscular
- motile
- sedentary
- solitary
- territorial
Home Range
The home range size has not been reported.
Communication and Perception
Communication in this species is varied, and entails some chemical, tactile, visual,
and accoustic components. Scent marking is sexually dimorphic in
N. lepida
. Males exhibit ventral rubbing more commonly than do females. Females exhibit rolling
more than do males. Rubbing may occur in response to odors of conspecifics, after
a male encounters a female, or in ares soiled by other individuals. Mates may communicate
by intense sniffing, vocalization, hop and dart, and ear-wiggling responses, grooming,
and foot thumping.
- Other Communication Modes
- pheromones
- scent marks
- vibrations
- Perception Channels
- visual
- tactile
- acoustic
- vibrations
- chemical
Food Habits
Neotoma lepida
is a follivorous/granivorous species. Food consists of buds, fruits, bark, leaves,
and young shoots of many plant species. These rats move from their shelters to feeding
areas, but carry food back to the shelters to consume it in safety. The paths that
desert woodrats take to their food sources are often made up of boulders, which helps
to conceal these animals from predators.
In coastal scrub habitat, preferred foods of
N. lepida
are live oak, chamise, and buckwheat. In the Mojave Desert,
N. lepida
prefers creosote, cholla, and prickly pear. These rats prefer mormon-tea, rattlesnake
weed, mustard, sagebrush, and buckwheat in the juniper-sagebrush habitats.
- Plant Foods
- leaves
- wood, bark, or stems
- seeds, grains, and nuts
- fruit
- flowers
Predation
Neotoma lepida
uses the cover of its house, or hides in boulders to escape predation. The main
predators of
N. lepida
are coyotes (
Canis latrans
), swift fox (
Vulpes velox
), red-tailed hawks (
Buteo jamaicensis
), and great-horned owls (
Bubo virginianus
).
N. lepida
may also fall victim to conspecifics.
Ecosystem Roles
Neotoma lepida
competes with cricetid and heteromyid rodents, and therefore probably limits their
populations. Their houses provide shelter for many small vertebrates. Because this
species provides foodto snakes, owls, and many predatory mammals, it may influence
their populations as well.
- Ecosystem Impact
- disperses seeds
- creates habitat
- soil aeration
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Neotoma lepida provides no direct economic benefit to humans. They are indirectly important to humans through their ecosystem roles.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
Neotoma lepida
is a known carrier of hantavirus.
- Negative Impacts
-
injures humans
- carries human disease
Conservation Status
Neotoma lepida is not thought to be endangered at all, and is not listed by CITES or IUCN.
Additional Links
Contributors
Nancy Shefferly (editor), Animal Diversity Web.
Kurt Oelhafen (author), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Chris Yahnke (editor, instructor), University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- island endemic
-
animals that live only on an island or set of islands.
- temperate
-
that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- desert or dunes
-
in deserts low (less than 30 cm per year) and unpredictable rainfall results in landscapes dominated by plants and animals adapted to aridity. Vegetation is typically sparse, though spectacular blooms may occur following rain. Deserts can be cold or warm and daily temperates typically fluctuate. In dune areas vegetation is also sparse and conditions are dry. This is because sand does not hold water well so little is available to plants. In dunes near seas and oceans this is compounded by the influence of salt in the air and soil. Salt limits the ability of plants to take up water through their roots.
- chaparral
-
Found in coastal areas between 30 and 40 degrees latitude, in areas with a Mediterranean climate. Vegetation is dominated by stands of dense, spiny shrubs with tough (hard or waxy) evergreen leaves. May be maintained by periodic fire. In South America it includes the scrub ecotone between forest and paramo.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- fertilization
-
union of egg and spermatozoan
- viviparous
-
reproduction in which fertilization and development take place within the female body and the developing embryo derives nourishment from the female.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- nocturnal
-
active during the night
- crepuscular
-
active at dawn and dusk
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- sedentary
-
remains in the same area
- solitary
-
lives alone
- territorial
-
defends an area within the home range, occupied by a single animals or group of animals of the same species and held through overt defense, display, or advertisement
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- pheromones
-
chemicals released into air or water that are detected by and responded to by other animals of the same species
- scent marks
-
communicates by producing scents from special gland(s) and placing them on a surface whether others can smell or taste them
- vibrations
-
movements of a hard surface that are produced by animals as signals to others
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- vibrations
-
movements of a hard surface that are produced by animals as signals to others
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
- soil aeration
-
digs and breaks up soil so air and water can get in
- herbivore
-
An animal that eats mainly plants or parts of plants.
- folivore
-
an animal that mainly eats leaves.
- granivore
-
an animal that mainly eats seeds
References
Brylski, P. 2000. "Desert Woodrat" (On-line). California Wildlife Habitat Relationship System. Accessed May 13, 2004 at http://www.dfg.ca.gov/whdab/html/M126.html .
Egoscue, H. 1957. The desert woodrat: a laboratory colony. Jornal of Mammalogy , 38: 472-481.
Flemming, A., P. Chee, F. Vaccarino. 1981. Sexual behavior and its olfactory control in the desert woodrat. Animal Behavioir , 29/3: 727-745.
Thompson, S. 1982. Spatial utilization and foraging behavior of the desert woodrat. Journal of Mammalogy , 63/4: 570-581.
Verts, B., L. Carraway. 2002. Neotoma lepida. Mammalian Species , 699: 1-12.