endemic to a single state or province

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (<100-250 square km (less than about 40-100 square miles)) Coastal Mendocino County, California.

Historic Range:
U.S.A. (CA)

Differs from other subspecies by broad, laterally compressed body, stocky body shape, and black fur.

Comments: Gulches and north-facing slopes within narrow coastal valleys. See also GHABCOM for A. RUFA.

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Comments: Feeds on a wide variety of vegetation. Requires free surface water or succulent vegetation on a daily basis.

1 - 1000 individuals

Comments: As of the early 1990s, the total population was reported as 51-65 individuals on about 40 ha (1991 End. Sp. Tech. Bull. 16(3):3).

Comments: Active during winter. Based on other subspecies: throughout the 24-hour day in summer, several periods of activity alternate with periods of rest; more active at night than during daylight hours.

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N1 - Critically Imperiled

Rounded Global Status Rank: T1 - Critically Imperiled

Reasons: Small range in coastal Mendocino County, California; threatened by habitat loss/alteration, predation by free-roaming cats and dogs, and possibly other factors.

Current Listing Status Summary

Status: Endangered
Date Listed: 12/12/1991
Lead Region:   California/Nevada Region (Region 8) 
Where Listed:


Population detail:

Population location: entire
Listing status: E

For most current information and documents related to the conservation status and management of Aplodontia rufa nigra , see its USFWS Species Profile

Comments: Evidently substantial habitat has been lost to agricultural and urban development; impacted by livestock grazing and brush clearing; other threats include road construction, housing development, timber harvest, water diversion, the spread of exotic plants, predation by free-roaming cats and dogs, poisoning, genetic isolation, and possibly sensitivity to disturbance (1991 End. Sp. Tech. Bull. 16(3):3; USFWS, Federal Register, 19 August 1997).

Needs: See draft recovery plan, available in August 1997 (USFWS, 3310 Camino Ave., Suite 130, Sacramento, CA 95821.