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Active pack rat midden in northern Nevada. In the absence of rock crevices or caves, the dens are often built under trees or bushes. The pack rats will also use plant fragments, animal dung, and small rocks in building the den. The vast majority of the materials will be from a radius of several dozen yards of the nest.
The bushy-tailed woodrat prefers green vegetation (leaves, needles, shoots), but it will also consume twigs, fruits, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, and some animal matter. One study [ 7 ] in southeastern Idaho found grasses , cactus , vetch , sagebrush , and mustard plants in their diets, as well as a few arthropods .
When searching for food is dangerous or unproductive, animals often use food stores to supply all or part of their diet. This is a feasible strategy to avoid food shortage. It is the habit of collecting and storing both food and nonfood items that has earned the eastern woodrat is other common name of "pack-rat" or "trade rat". [17]
Nicknames include "packrats" or "trade rats" because of their tendency to hoard things, build large domed dens, and "trade" by dropping then picking up another object for it. Coyotes and other predators will attempt to prey on these rodents by laying waste to the dens, but the sheer volume of material is usually dissuasive. Occasionally, dusky ...
The Allegheny woodrat (Neotoma magister), is a species of "pack rat" in the genus Neotoma. Once believed to be a subspecies of the eastern woodrat ( Neotoma floridana ), extensive DNA analysis has proven it to be a distinct species.
Rats are bigger than most Old World mice, which are their relatives, but seldom weigh over 500 grams (17 + 1 ⁄ 2 oz) in the wild. [2] The term rat is also used in the names of other small mammals that are not true rats. Examples include the North American pack rats (aka wood rats [3]) and a number of species loosely called kangaroo rats. [3]
Desert woodrats are relatively small for pack rats, measuring 28 to 39 cm (11 to 15 in) in length, including a 12 to 20 cm (4.7 to 7.9 in) tail. They weigh from 122 to 350 g (4.3 to 12.3 oz), with males being larger than females. Their coloring varies between individuals, and can be anything from pale gray to cinnamon to near-black.
Three goals of plant taxonomy are the identification, classification and description of plants. The distinction between these three goals is important and often overlooked. Plant identification is a determination of the identity of an unknown plant by comparison with previously collected specimens or with the aid of books or identification manuals.