Stephen's woodrat facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Stephens' woodrat |
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|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Neotoma
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| Species: |
stephensi
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The Stephen's woodrat (Neotoma stephensi) is a type of rodent. It belongs to the Cricetidae family, which includes many mice and hamsters. You can find this woodrat in parts of the United States, specifically in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.
Contents
What Does the Stephens' Woodrat Look Like?
Stephens' woodrats are small animals. They have long, soft fur and a tail that is a little bit bushy. Their fur is usually a grayish-brown color, with a lighter head and a pinkish-brown belly. They also have white fur on their chest, groin area, feet, and sometimes on their throat. Their ears and the top of their tail are grayish-brown.
Their skull is short and wide. It has a small, round braincase. The front part of their head is flat and wide. They also have large ear bones. Their first upper molar tooth does not have a special groove on the inside front.
How Is It Different from Similar Animals?
The Stephens' woodrat looks a lot like another woodrat species called Neotoma lepida. However, you can tell them apart by a few things. The Stephens' woodrat has larger back feet. Its fur color is also different. Its skull is usually bigger, with longer rows of teeth. It also has a larger bone at the back of its head and smaller ear bones compared to N. lepida.
Where Do Stephens' Woodrats Live?
The Stephens' woodrat was first discovered in the Hualapai Mountains of Arizona. This was at an elevation of about 1,920 meters (6,300 feet).
These woodrats like to live in rocky areas and mountains. They often live in pinyon-juniper woodlands, which are forests with pine and juniper trees. Sometimes, but not often, they live near cliffs. They might also be found among yellow pines, cacti, or agave plants.
Stephens' woodrats build their homes, called middens, from debris. They make these homes among rocks or around the bottom of trees. They can also build them above the ground in juniper trees. You can find them from central Arizona to southern Utah, and from western New Mexico (north of Grant County) up to Mohave County in western Arizona. However, they might no longer live in Utah.
Stephens' Woodrat Behavior and Life Cycle
Stephens' woodrats are active at night, which means they are nocturnal. They do not hibernate (sleep through winter) and they do not aestivate (sleep through summer).
Life Cycle and Reproduction
A generation of Stephens' woodrats lasts about two years. They usually breed in the winter and early fall. Young woodrats, called juveniles, start to appear from March to May.
A female Stephens' woodrat can have two or more litters of babies each year. Each litter usually has 1 to 5 offspring, but on average, they have two babies. Females become ready to have babies when they are about 9 to 10 months old. Most females do not live long enough to reproduce again the next season.
What Do Stephens' Woodrats Eat?
Stephens' woodrats mainly eat the leaves and seeds of juniper trees. They are very good at choosing juniper plants that have low levels of harmful chemicals. These chemicals are a way for plants to protect themselves from animals. They might also eat a plant called ephedra. However, they are mostly a specialist species, meaning they mostly eat one specific thing: the Juniperus monosperma juniper.
Scientists compared the Stephens' woodrat to another woodrat species, the Neotoma albigula, which eats many different things. They found that a special protein called Permeability-glycoprotein (Pgp) was much more active in the small intestine of the Stephens' woodrat. This protein helps stop toxins from entering the body's cells. This suggests that the Stephens' woodrat's body is better at handling the toxins found in juniper leaves, allowing them to eat a lot of them.
Is the Stephens' Woodrat Endangered?
The Stephens' woodrat is not considered a threatened species. This means there are enough of them in the wild. Also, there are protected areas within the places where Stephens' woodrats naturally live.
