Desert Woodrat
Encyclopedia
The Desert Woodrat is a small species of pack rat
native to desert regions of western North America
, ranging from southeastern Oregon
and southwestern Idaho
, south to California
in the U.S., and Baja California
and extreme northwestern Sonora
in Mexico
.
This pack rat is 8.5 to 15 inches long. Their coloring is a pale gray with light undersides, but the fur on the throat region is gray at its base. The tail is distinctly bicolored.
They feed on beans and leaves of mesquite
, on juniper
, and on parts of available cacti
, apparently without getting injured by the spines. They also eat creosote
, thistle
, ephedra
, rattlesnake weed
, mustard
, sagebrush
, and buckwheat
. They will also eat other green vegetation, seed
s, fruit
s, acorn
s, and pine nut
s. In desert habitats, they are highly dependent upon prickly pear
cacti for water balance, although they can be sustained on creosote year-round.
Desert Woodrats are aggressively solitary. They may defend water sources such as succulent plants against other species, and perhaps prevent other species from obtaining water during droughts.
The Desert Woodrat sometimes appropriates the burrows of a ground squirrel
s or kangaroo rat
s, and will fortify the entrance with sticks and bits of spiny cactus collected from Jumping
and Teddy-bear Cholla
s. 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. Rock crevices appear preferred where available, but pack rats generally adapt to any situation. Houses are used for nesting, food caching, and predator escape. Nests are constructed of dried vegetation, usually fibrous grass parts or shredded stems, and are located within the stick house.
These pack rats are generally found in sagebrush
scrub areas, in chaparral
, and in deserts and rocky slopes with scattered cactus
, yucca
, pine
/juniper
, and other low vegetation. They are most abundant in rocky areas with Joshua tree
s at an elevations ranging from sea level to 2600 m (8500 ft). They are active year-round and are mainly nocturnal.
Predators include snake
s, owl
s, and predatory mammal
s. This woodrat is also commonly parasitized by bot fly larvae.
Pack rat
A packrat, also called a woodrat, can be any of the species in the rodent genus Neotoma. Packrats have a rat-like appearance, with long tails, large ears and large black eyes. Compared to deer mice, harvest mice and grasshopper mice, packrats are noticeably larger and are usually somewhat larger...
native to desert regions of western North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, ranging from southeastern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and southwestern Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, south to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the U.S., and Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
and extreme northwestern Sonora
Sonora
Sonora officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 72 municipalities; the capital city is Hermosillo....
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
This pack rat is 8.5 to 15 inches long. Their coloring is a pale gray with light undersides, but the fur on the throat region is gray at its base. The tail is distinctly bicolored.
They feed on beans and leaves of mesquite
Mesquite
Mesquite is a leguminous plant of the Prosopis genus found in northern Mexico through the Sonoran Desert and Chihuahuan Deserts, and up into the Southwestern United States as far north as southern Kansas, west to the Colorado Desert in California,and east to the eastern fifth of Texas, where...
, on juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
, and on parts of available cacti
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
, apparently without getting injured by the spines. They also eat creosote
Creosote
Creosote is the portion of chemical products obtained by the distillation of a tar that remains heavier than water, notably useful for its anti-septic and preservative properties...
, thistle
Thistle
Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles often occur all over the plant – on surfaces such as those of the stem and flat parts of leaves. These are an adaptation that protects the...
, ephedra
Ephedra (genus)
Ephedra is a genus of gymnosperm shrubs, the only genus in its family, Ephedraceae, and order, Ephedrales. Ephedra grows in dry climates over wide areas of the northern hemisphere, including southwestern North America, Europe, north Africa, and southwest and central Asia, and, in the southern...
, rattlesnake weed
Rattlesnake Weed
Chamaesyce albomarginata is a small low-growing annual, in the spurge family native to desert, chaparral, and grassland habitats of southwestern North America, from southern and central California to...
, mustard
Mustard plant
Mustards are several plant species in the genera Brassica and Sinapis whose small mustard seeds are used as a spice and, by grinding and mixing them with water, vinegar or other liquids, are turned into the condiment known as mustard or prepared mustard...
, sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
, and buckwheat
Buckwheat
Buckwheat refers to a variety of plants in the dicot family Polygonaceae: the Eurasian genus Fagopyrum, the North American genus Eriogonum, and the Northern Hemisphere genus Fallopia. Either of the latter two may be referred to as "wild buckwheat"...
. They will also eat other green vegetation, seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
s, acorn
Acorn
The acorn, or oak nut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives . It usually contains a single seed , enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne in a cup-shaped cupule. Acorns vary from 1–6 cm long and 0.8–4 cm broad...
s, and pine nut
Pine nut
Pine nuts are the edible seeds of pines . About 20 species of pine produce seeds large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines the seeds are also edible, but are too small to be of great value as a human food....
s. In desert habitats, they are highly dependent upon prickly pear
Opuntia
Opuntia, also known as nopales or paddle cactus , is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae.Currently, only prickly pears are included in this genus of about 200 species distributed throughout most of the Americas. Chollas are now separated into the genus Cylindropuntia, which some still consider...
cacti for water balance, although they can be sustained on creosote year-round.
Desert Woodrats are aggressively solitary. They may defend water sources such as succulent plants against other species, and perhaps prevent other species from obtaining water during droughts.
The Desert Woodrat sometimes appropriates the burrows of a ground squirrel
Ground squirrel
The ground squirrels are members of the squirrel family of rodents which generally live on or in the ground, rather than trees. The term is most often used for the medium-sized ground squirrels, as the larger ones are more commonly known as marmots or prairie dogs, while the smaller and less...
s or kangaroo rat
Kangaroo rat
Kangaroo rats, genus Dipodomys, are small rodents native to North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form: as they hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, although they are not related...
s, and will fortify the entrance with sticks and bits of spiny cactus collected from Jumping
Jumping Cholla
Cylindropuntia fulgida, the Jumping cholla, also known as the hanging chain cholla, is a cactus that is native to the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico.-Distribution:...
and Teddy-bear Cholla
Teddy-bear Cholla
The teddy-bear cholla is a cactus native to California, Arizona, and Nevada and northwestern Mexico.-Description:...
s. 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. Rock crevices appear preferred where available, but pack rats generally adapt to any situation. Houses are used for nesting, food caching, and predator escape. Nests are constructed of dried vegetation, usually fibrous grass parts or shredded stems, and are located within the stick house.
These pack rats are generally found in sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
scrub areas, in chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
, and in deserts and rocky slopes with scattered cactus
Cactus
A cactus is a member of the plant family Cactaceae. Their distinctive appearance is a result of adaptations to conserve water in dry and/or hot environments. In most species, the stem has evolved to become photosynthetic and succulent, while the leaves have evolved into spines...
, yucca
Yucca
Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...
, pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
/juniper
Juniper
Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the...
, and other low vegetation. They are most abundant in rocky areas with Joshua tree
Joshua tree
Yucca brevifolia is a plant species belonging to the genus Yucca. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, Yucca palm, Tree yucca, and Palm tree yucca....
s at an elevations ranging from sea level to 2600 m (8500 ft). They are active year-round and are mainly nocturnal.
Predators include snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
s, and predatory mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s. This woodrat is also commonly parasitized by bot fly larvae.