Desert Woodrats inhabit scrublands in desert and semi-desert areas. Unlike some other rodents living in regions with limited water resources, the Desert Woodrat does not have water-conserving physiological adaptations. The Woodrats solve this problem by eating succulent leaves, which provide the large amount of water they require. They often build their nests in clumps of plants of the agave family and prickly-pear cactus, which can provide them with both food and water. They defecate and urinate on their piles of stored plant material. Some of these dry and harden and last for tens of thousands of years, giving scientists a picture of what plant life was like in the region thousands of years ago. Desert Woodrats occur with other species of rodents, nearly all of them smaller. Their size and more aggressive nature give them an advantage over their neighbors in gaining access to nutrient-rich vegetation.

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Mammal Species of the World

Arid and semi-arid areas of western United States and southward to northwestern Sonora and through the Baja California peninsula (Mexico), including the islands of Espiritu Santo, San Francisco, San Jose, Danzante, Carmen, Angel de la Guardia, and Margarita. In the US, range includes southern California, southeastern Oregon, southwestern Idaho, western Utah, and extreme western Colorado and Arizona.

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.

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )

Other Geographic Terms: island endemic

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: Southeastern Oregon to west-central Colorado, south through Nevada, northwestern Arizona, and southern California to southern Baja California (Musser and Carleton, in Wilson and Reeder 2005).

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.

Range mass: 122 to 350 g.

Range length: 287 to 401 mm.

Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry

Sexual Dimorphism: male larger

Average basal metabolic rate: 0.46 W.

Length: 38 cm

Weight: 170 grams

Sexual Dimorphism: Males are larger than females.

Length:
Range: 225-383 mm

Weight:
Range: 130-160 g

Habitat and Ecology

Systems

• Terrestrial

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

Comments: Sagebrush scrub; chaparral; deserts and rocky slopes with scattered cactus, yucca, pine-juniper, and other low vegetation; creosote bush desert; Joshua tree woodland; scub oak woodland; pinyon-juniper woodland; riparian zones; also recorded from salt marsh (see Verts and Carraway 2002). When inactive, occupies elaborate den built of debris on ground, among cacti or yucca, along cliff, among rocks, occasionally in tree. Young are born and reared in a nest within the den.

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.

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

Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore , Granivore )

Comments: Feeds on beans and leaves of mesquite, juniper, parts of available cacti, creosote bush, thistle, Ephedra; also other green vegetation, seeds, fruits, acorns, and pine nuts. Derives water from diet. Can eat plants high in oxalic acid.

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

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.

Known Predators:

• coyotes (Canis latrans)
• swift foxes (Vulpes velox)
• red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis)
• great-horned owls (Bubo virginianus)

Neotoma lepida is prey of:
Buteo jamaicensis
Bubo virginianus
Canis latrans
Vulpes velox

This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.

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.

Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical

Other Communication Modes: pheromones ; scent marks ; vibrations

Perception Channels: visual ; acoustic ; vibrations

Comments: Primarily nocturnal.

These animals apparently live around 3 years in the wild.

Average lifespan

Status: wild: 3 years.

Range lifespan

Status: captivity: 10.5 (high) years.

Maximum longevity: 10.5 years (captivity) Observations: One wild born specimen was about 10.5 years old when it died in captivity (Richard Weigl 2005).

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.

Breeding interval: Desert woodrats breed once yearly in the wild.

Breeding season: Breeding occurs between October and May.

Average number of offspring: 2.7.

Range gestation period: 30 to 36 days.

Range weaning age: 27 to 40 days.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2 to 3 months.

Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2 to 3 months.

Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); fertilization ; viviparous

Average birth mass: 8.45 g.

Average number of offspring: 3.

Nesting is solitary for N. lepida. Nests are made of dried vegetation. Females have a strong maternal instinct, and will readily accept orphaned young. Young woodrats are attached to the mother's nipples by their teeth for the first 12 days of life. 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); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Protecting: Female)

Gestation lasts 30-36 days. Females produce 4 or more litters/year. Litter size usually is 2-3, but may number 1-5 young. Young are weaned in 21-34 days (depending on litter size), reach sexual maturity 2-3 months (Burt and Grossenheider 1964, Hoffmeister 1986).

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 0
Species: 39
Species With Barcodes: 1

Neotoma lepida is not thought to be endangered at all, and is not listed by CITES or IUCN.

US Federal List: no special status

CITES: no special status

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Population

Population Trend

Major Threats

Conservation Actions

Neotoma lepida is a known carrier of hantavirus.

Negative Impacts: injures humans (carries human disease)

Neotoma lepida provides no direct economic benefit to humans. They are indirectly important to humans through their ecosystem roles.

Comments: Subspecies aureotunicata, auripila, bensoni, devia, flava, harteri, monstrabilis, and sanrafaeli of the species Neotoma lepida were regarded together as a distinct species, N. devia, by Musser and Carleton (in Wilson and Reeder 1993; see also Mascarello 1978 and Jones et al. 1992). However, the taxa that should be included in this species require further study and affirmation (Musser and Carleton, in Wilson and Reeder 1993, 2005). Musser and Carleton (in Wilson and Reeder 2005) included aureotunicata, auripila, bensoni, flava, and harteri in N. devia; all other subspecies/synonyms in the devia-lepida group were allocated to N. lepida.

The North American mammal checklist by Baker et al. (2003) listed N. devia as distinct from N. lepida but stated that it is unclear if N. devia represents a valid species. Even with the removal of devia, N. lepida may represent a composite of two species (see Mascarello 1978; Baker et al. 2003; Musser and Carleton, in Wilson and Reeder 2005).