Desert Wood Rat
(Neotoma lepida)
The Desert Wood Rat is a gray-brown, medium sized rat that occurs abundantly on the Etiwanda Fan. The Desert Wood Rat is found in desert scrub, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral habitats throughout Nevada, southern California, western Arizona, parts of Utah, and south into Baja California. There are 31 races of Desert Wood Rat. The local race of the Desert Wood Rat is the San Diego Desert Wood Rat (N. l. intermedia).
Status: N. l. intermedia is a California Species of Special Concern
Habitat: Desert scrub, coastal sage scrub, and chaparral
Diet: Plant material, including leaves, nuts, flowers, and berries
Mean* adult body length: 158.0 mm
Mean* adult tail length: 147.6 mm
Mean* adult hind foot length: 30.1 mm
Mean* adult ear length: 26.5 mm
*mean measurement of individuals captured in the San Bernardino Valley by Museum researchers
The graph below shows the activity periods of adults and immatures from1999 through 2001. The adults are active year around and the immatures are present at different periods each year. Note that immature individuals grow to adult size and molt into adult pelage within a single breeding season.
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