Animal Info - San Martin Island Woodrat

Neotoma martinensis

Status: Endangered

1. Profile (Picture)
2. Tidbits
3. Status and Trends (IUCN Status, Countries Where Currently Found, History of Distribution)
4. Data on Biology and Ecology (Habitat, Gestation Period, Diet, Behavior, Social Organization)
5. References

Profile

Pictures: Related Species: Bushy-tailed Woodrat (Neotoma cinerea) (29 Kb JPEG) (Univ. Wash.); Southern Plains Woodrat (Neotoma micropus) (34 Kb JPEG) (Davis & Schmidly); White-throated Woodrat (Neotoma albigula) (79 Kb JPEG) (CPLUHNA)

Insular woodrats are largely confined to rocky or boulder covered areas. Woodrats generally eat plant matter such as roots, stems and leaves; seeds, and some invertebrates. They do not drink much water, but during dry seasons they eat on the fleshy stems of cacti and other plants that are well filled with water. Woodrats are generally nocturnal and are active throughout the year. They are good climbers, but they usually do not climb far up in trees. Woodrats are solitary animals.

The San Martin Island woodrat is found only on San Martin Island off of northwestern Baja California, Mexico.

Tidbits

*** Woodrats collect a variety of material for their nests, often selecting pieces of silverware or other shiny objects from camps. This habit has given them the name of "trade rat" or "pack rat."

*** Sometimes woodrats live close enough to farms to be considered pests, but for the most part they have little economic significance.

Status and Trends

IUCN Status:

1994: Endangered
1996 - 2004: Endangered (Criteria: B1+2c) (IUCN 2004)

Countries Where the San Martin Island Woodrat Is Currently Found:

2004: Occurs in Mexico (IUCN 2004).

History of Distribution:

The San Martin Island woodrat is found only on San Martin Island off of northwestern Baja California, Mexico.

Data on Biology and Ecology

Habitat:

Insular woodrats are largely confined to rocky or boulder covered areas (Smith 1993).

The San Martin Island woodrat is one of the species that live in the California Floristic Province Biodiversity Hotspot (Cons. Intl.).

Gestation Period:

Woodrats generally have a gestation period of 30 - 40 days.

Diet:

Woodrats generally eat plant matter such as roots, stems and leaves; seeds, and some invertebrates. They do not drink much water, but during dry seasons they eat on the fleshy stems of cacti and other plants that are well filled with water. (Nowak 1999)

Behavior:

Woodrats are generally nocturnal and are active throughout the year. They are good climbers, but they usually do not climb far up in trees.

Social Organization:

Woodrats are solitary animals.

References

Cons. Intl., CPLUHNA, Davis & Schmidly, IUCN 1994, IUCN 1996, IUCN 2000, IUCN 2003a, IUCN 2004, Nowak 1999, Nowak & Paradiso 1983, Smith 1993, Univ. Wash.

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