Rodentia: Gnawing Mammals

Rodentia Checklist

• one pair of upper and lower incisors– each enlarged, sharply

beveled, ever-growing– enamel on outer

surface only• diastama between

incisors and premolars

• other skull features

Sciuridae: Squirrels

Gray SquirrelSciurus caroliniensis

• melanistic (black) form in some areas

• Besides nuts, also eat flowers, bark, buds, bird eggs, insects, carrion

Fox SquirrelSciurus niger

• “fox” refers to the reddish color

• less arboreal, favors more open habitats

Red SquirrelTamiasciurus hudsonicus

• favors evergreens to mixed forests

• store unripe cones in middens

• also eat bird eggs, mushrooms

• loud and vocal

Southern Flying SquirrelGlaucomys volans

•more common of the two species

•glide rather than powered flight

•prefers deciduous woods

•diet of fungi, lichens, nuts, seeds, bird eggs, sap

Northern Flying SquirrelGlaucomys sabrinus

• prefer coniferous woods

• doesn’t hibernate

• eat hypogenous fungi

• susceptible to nematode parasite, Stongyloides robustus

• G. volans is less susceptible

Eastern ChipmunkTamias striatus

• Facial stripes• Cheek pouches• 1 in east, 21 in west

WoodchuckMarmota monax

• are a ground squirrel• AKA groundhog,

whistle-pig• true hibernators• burrow up to 30’

Castoridae

BeaverCastor canadensis

•our largest rodent

•perhaps most important animal in settling of North America

•tail slapping threat behavior

•can remain submerged 15 minutes

Cricetidae:Native Rats, Mice & Voles

Largest family of NA mammals

MuskratOndatra zibethicus

• feed on cattails and aquatic plants

• actively scent-mark territories, hence the name

• domed huts

• tapered, hairless, scaly tail differs from beaver’s flat tail

Deer MousePeromyscus maniculatus

White-footed MousePeromyscus leucopus

Eastern WoodratNeotoma floridana

Southern Red-backed VoleClethrionomys gapperi

Meadow VoleMicrotus pennsylvanicus

Rock VoleMicrotus chrotorrhinus

Woodland VoleMicrotus pinetorum

Southern Bog LemmingSynaptomys cooperi

Muridae: Old World Rats & Mice

Norway Rat (I)Rattus norvegicus

House Mouse (I)Mus musculus

Meadow Jumping MouseZapus hudsonius

Zapodidae: Jumping Mice

Woodland Jumping MouseNapaeozapus insignis

PorcupineErethizon dorsatum

• quills are modified hairs with barbed tip

• few predators except Fisher

• in winter, feed on inner bark of trees

• more varied diet in summer

Erethizontidae: Porcupines