Hodomys alleniAllen's woodrat

Geographic Range

Western and Central Mexico

Habitat

Habitat ranges from dry wooded slopes, tropical deciduous forest, rocky outcrops to dense scrub. Local populations can be very dense.

Physical Description

Rat-like in form with a long and narrow head. Upperparts reddish brown to dusky brown. Underparts white to buff. Tail is sparsely haired and ranges from dusky to white. Total body length ranges from 368-445, with tail lengths of 158-206.

Reproduction

Little is known about the reproductive habits of this species. Females have been reported with 1-2 offspring, and juveniles have been captured at different times in the year.

  • Key Reproductive Features
  • gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
  • sexual

Behavior

No information on social systems is available. Nesting appears to occur at the base of trees and under other cover. Calls have been herd at sundown as a series of staccato "chooks."

Communication and Perception

Food Habits

Has been found to eat coco-oil seeds along with other types of seeds, and possibly also land crabs.

Economic Importance for Humans: Positive

Not known

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Not known

Conservation Status

Contributors

Anna Bess Sorin (author), Biology Dept., University of Memphis.

Glossary

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

World Map

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

forest

forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

scrub forest

scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

tactile

uses touch to communicate

tropical savanna and grassland

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

savanna

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.

temperate grassland

A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.

References

Genoways, H.H. and E.C. Birney. 1974. Neotoma alleni. Mammalian Species. No 41. pp1-4. American Society of Mammalogists.