Jaliscan cotton rat | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Sigmodontinae |
Genus: | Sigmodon |
Species: | S. mascotensis
|
Binomial name | |
Sigmodon mascotensis
J. A. Allen, 1897
|
The Jaliscan cotton rat or Mexican cotton rat (Sigmodon mascotensis) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico. They commonly have brown fur with white fur on the belly. [2] They are ground-dwelling and prefer open habitats. [3]
The Mexican cotton rat is endemic to Mexico and is distributed along the western coast of the country. [1] This area is located in the tropical deciduous forest biome, and the Mexican cotton rat prefers to reside in the open, grassy areas with dense areas of ground-level vegetation and little to no trees. [3] However, these rats will occupy a variety of habitats when their populations grow in size. [3] The Mexican cotton rat coexists cooperatively with other similar rodents in the ecosystem. [3]
The Mexican cotton rat belongs to the family Cricetidae in the order Rodentia. [4] While it used to be considered a subspecies of Sigmodon hispidus (Hispid cotton rat), the Mexican cotton rat was designated as its own species after an ancestral karyotype study. [4] The Mexican cotton rat and the Hispid cotton rat can be distinguished chromosomally as well as by different skull characteristics. [2]
Hantavirus is spread to humans through exposure to rodent fecal matter or by rodent bites and can become fatal. [5] Different species of rodents can carry different strains of hantavirus. [5] The Mexican cotton rat has been found to be one of the more prevalent carriers of hantavirus due its high amount of hantaviral antibodies. [5] The hantavirus that the Mexican cotton rat carries is a unique genotype of this virus, which is also carried by Oryzomys couesi (Coues's rice rat). [5]
Jaliscan cotton rat | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Rodentia |
Family: | Cricetidae |
Subfamily: | Sigmodontinae |
Genus: | Sigmodon |
Species: | S. mascotensis
|
Binomial name | |
Sigmodon mascotensis
J. A. Allen, 1897
|
The Jaliscan cotton rat or Mexican cotton rat (Sigmodon mascotensis) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico. They commonly have brown fur with white fur on the belly. [2] They are ground-dwelling and prefer open habitats. [3]
The Mexican cotton rat is endemic to Mexico and is distributed along the western coast of the country. [1] This area is located in the tropical deciduous forest biome, and the Mexican cotton rat prefers to reside in the open, grassy areas with dense areas of ground-level vegetation and little to no trees. [3] However, these rats will occupy a variety of habitats when their populations grow in size. [3] The Mexican cotton rat coexists cooperatively with other similar rodents in the ecosystem. [3]
The Mexican cotton rat belongs to the family Cricetidae in the order Rodentia. [4] While it used to be considered a subspecies of Sigmodon hispidus (Hispid cotton rat), the Mexican cotton rat was designated as its own species after an ancestral karyotype study. [4] The Mexican cotton rat and the Hispid cotton rat can be distinguished chromosomally as well as by different skull characteristics. [2]
Hantavirus is spread to humans through exposure to rodent fecal matter or by rodent bites and can become fatal. [5] Different species of rodents can carry different strains of hantavirus. [5] The Mexican cotton rat has been found to be one of the more prevalent carriers of hantavirus due its high amount of hantaviral antibodies. [5] The hantavirus that the Mexican cotton rat carries is a unique genotype of this virus, which is also carried by Oryzomys couesi (Coues's rice rat). [5]