| Arizona cotton rat | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Cricetidae |
| Subfamily: | Sigmodontinae |
| Genus: | Sigmodon |
| Species: | S. arizonae |
| Binomial name | |
| Sigmodon arizonae Mearns, 1890 | |
The Arizona cotton rat or Colorado River cotton rat (Sigmodon arizonae) is a rat in the family Cricetidae. It is found in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.
The Arizona cotton rat has a typical rat-like appearance, and is sufficiently similar to the hispid cotton rat that it was considered to be part of the same species until 1970, when genetic analysis confirmed its distinct nature. It has bristly brownish fur over most of its body, with whitish underparts and grey feet. The scaly tail is dark in color, with very sparse fur. Adults range from 9.8 to 14.2 inches (250 to 360 mm) in total length, including the 3.9 to 5.9 in (99 to 150 mm) long tail, and weigh anything from 2.9 to 10.6 ounces (82 to 301 g). Males are slightly larger than females, but the two sexes are otherwise similar in appearance. [2]
Females have ten or twelve teats, suggesting a maximum litter size of around this number. Reproduction is thought to occur year-round. [2]
The Arizona cotton rat is found in southern and central Arizona, the extreme southwestern corner of New Mexico, [3] and in western Mexico from Sonora to Nayarit. [1] They live close to rivers, streams, and other sources of fresh water in semidesert, open grassland, or swampy habitats throughout the region. They rely particularly on areas of dense grassy vegetation. [4] Two of the five recognized subspecies are believed to have gone extinct during the twentieth century, [2] including the nominate subspecies, Sigmodon arizonae arizonae. Three subspecies therefore remain:
The Mexican jay formerly known as the gray-breasted jay, is a New World jay native to the Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental, and Central Plateau of Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States. In May 2011, the American Ornithologists' Union voted to split the Mexican jay into two species, one retaining the common name Mexican jay and one called the Transvolcanic jay. The Mexican jay is a medium-sized jay with blue upper parts and pale gray underparts. It resembles the Woodhouse's scrub-jay, but has an unstreaked throat and breast. It feeds largely on acorns and pine nuts, but includes many other plant and animal foods in its diet. It has a cooperative breeding system where the parents are assisted by other birds to raise their young. This is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
A cotton rat is any member of the rodent genus Sigmodon. Their name derives from their damaging effects on cotton as well as other plantation crops, such as sugarcane, corn, peanut and rice. Cotton rats have small ears and dark coats, and are found in North and South America. Members of this genus are distributed in the Southwestern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South American countries of: Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Guyana, and Suriname. Many of the species are found in Mexico.
The Arizona woodpecker is a woodpecker native to southern Arizona and New Mexico and the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Mexico. The species' northernmost range in southeastern Arizona, extreme southwestern New Mexico, and northern Sonora is the region of the Madrean Sky Islands, a region of higher Sonoran Desert mountain ranges.
The antelope jackrabbit is a species of North American hare found in southern Arizona and northwestern Mexico that occupies dry desert areas.
The hispid cotton rat is a rat long thought to occur in parts of South America, Central America, and southern North America. However, recent taxonomic revisions, based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data, have split this widely distributed species into three separate species. The distribution of S. hispidus ranges from Arizona in the west to Virginia to the east and from the Platte River in Nebraska in the north to, likely, the Rio Grande in the south, where it meets the northern edge of the distribution of S. toltecus. Adult size is total length 202–340 mm (8.0–13.4 in); tail 87–122 mm (3.4–4.8 in), frequently broken or stubbed; hind foot 29–35 mm (1.1–1.4 in); ear 16–20 mm (0.63–0.79 in); mass 50–250 g (1.8–8.8 oz). They have been used as laboratory animals.
The California vole is a type of vole which lives throughout much of California and part of southwestern Oregon. It is also known as the "California meadow mouse", a misnomer as this species is a vole, not a mouse. It averages 172 mm (6.8 in) in length although this length varies greatly between subspecies.
The white-throated woodrat is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found from central Mexico north to Utah and Colorado in the United States. It is primarily a western species in the United States, extending from central Texas west to southeastern California. Populations east of the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Trans-Pecos Texas, previously considered to be variants of the white-throated woodrat, have since 1988 been assigned to the white-toothed woodrat.
The Tres Marías island mouse or Tres Marías deer mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only on the Islas Marías off the west coast of Mexico. When last assessed, it was common on María Cleofás Island, but rare or absent on the other, more disturbed, islands.
The fulvous harvest mouse is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the United States.
The tawny-bellied cotton rat is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found in Mexico and in the US states of Arizona and New Mexico.
The Jaliscan cotton rat or Mexican cotton rat is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico. They commonly have brown fur with white fur on the belly. They are ground-dwelling and prefer open habitats.
The yellow-nosed cotton rat is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is native to Mexico and to the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas in the United States, where it inhabits mountain grassland, scrub, and pinyon-juniper woodland. It is common over much of its wide range and the IUCN considers it to be of "least concern".
The southern pocket gopher is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States, usually in high altitude grassland and shrubland. It feeds on plant material and has an extensive burrow above which is a large heap of earth on the surface of the ground.
The Mexican whip-poor-will,, is a medium-sized nightjar of the southwestern United States, Mexico, and northern Central America.
The Toltec cotton rat is a rodent species in the family Cricetidae. It is found in eastern Mexico from the Rio Grande to the Yucatán Peninsula, as well as in Belize and northern Guatemala. It prefers moist grassland habitat. While long thought to be a subspecies of S. hispidus, recent taxonomic revisions, based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data, have split the extensive former species range into three separate species. Carroll et al. (2004) indicate that the southern edge of the S. hispidus distribution is likely near the Rio Grande where it meets the northern distribution of S. toltecus. The range of S. toltecus extends from northern Mexico south into Chiapas where it occurs in sympatry with S. hirsutus . Rats from this species group have been used as laboratory animals.
The southern cotton rat is a rodent species in the family Cricetidae. It is found from southern Chiapas in Mexico through Central America, except for Belize, and as far east as northern Colombia and Venezuela. It lives in tropical rainforest, dry forest and savanna, as well as in cultivated areas. The species is terrestrial and primarily diurnal. It was long thought to be a subspecies of S. hispidus. However, recent taxonomic revisions, based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data, have split the extensive former species range into three separate species. Carroll et al. (2004) indicate that the southern edge of the S. hispidus distribution is likely near the Rio Grande where it meets the northern distribution of S. toltecus. The range of S. toltecus extends from northern Mexico south into Chiapas where it occurs in sympatry with S. hirsutus . Rats from this species group have been used as laboratory animals.
Oryzomys peninsulae, also known as the Lower California rice rat, is a species of rodent from western Mexico. Restricted to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, it is a member of the genus Oryzomys of family Cricetidae. Only about twenty individuals, collected around 1900, are known, and subsequent destruction of its riverine habitat may have driven the species to extinction.
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