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Eastern Woodrat - Neotoma floridana Cricetidae Members: | Search Common: Search Scientific: |
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| Distribution |
It has an apparent trimodal range in NC, occurring mostly in the southern half of the mountains and the adjacent southwestern Piedmont foothills, and also at a few sites in the southeastern Coastal Plain. Incredibly, in 2019, someone trapped one in northern Richmond County; Terry Sharpe (retired NCWRC biologist) and others soon located two nests in nearby buildings, as well as live-trapping a woodrat in 2020, adding an isolated Sandhills distribution to the state. Essentially the southeastern United States, from southern NC west to SD, and south to eastern TX and FL. | |
| Abundance | Generally uncommon in the southern half of the mountains, probably north to about Buncombe and Madison counties, and very rare to rare in the Hickorynut Gorge area in the foothills. Also apparently into the western Piedmont, though species identification there (as well as in the central mountains) is uncertain -- see the Allegheny Woodrat account and map. Very rare to rare, and local, in the extreme southeast, north to Jones County (where first found in 2017), and north to Richmond County. | |
| Seasonal Occurrence | Active year-round. | |
| Habitat | In the mountains, it occurs in rocky forested habitats, both dry and moist situations; talus slopes, boulders along and near streams, cliffs, and roadcuts all provide suitable micro-habitat. In the Coastal Plain, it favors floodplains and other moist hardwood forests; a favored site contains much Dwarf Palmetto (Sabal minor). They sometimes use abandoned buildings for nest sites. | |
| Behavior | Mainly or essentially nocturnal. They are noted for building large stick and leaf nests, often to at least a foot high and wide. Shiny objects can often be seen in these nests. | |
| Comments |
The northern portion of the original Eastern Woodrat species was split off in 2001 as the Allegheny Woodrat (Neotoma magister). As the two species are presumably allopatric (do not overlap) in the range, the separation in NC, apparently around Madison, Buncombe, McDowell, and Burke counties, plus eastward into the Piedmont, is difficult to assess because they are practically impossible to identify by visual means and because the nest structures are probably identical. Records have been increasing for this species in the mountains, most likely due to increased field work. However, the Coastal Plain population is State listed as Threatened and is in considerable decline, owing to habitat destruction. This coastal population belongs to the N. f. floridana [i.e., the nominate] subspecies, whereas the mountain population belongs to a different subspecies -- N. f. haematoreia. NOTE: Because of the impossible nature of identifying a woodrat to species without a specimen or hand-examination of a live individual (or likelihood of geographic range), some records simply must be left unidentified. The website editors feel that a Photo record from Madison County, from March 2020, though accepted as Eastern Woodrat, must actually be treated as "Woodrat unidentified species", as both Eastern Woodrat and Allegheny Woodrat can potentially occur in Madison County. | |
| Origin | Native | |
| NC List | Official | |
 State Rank | S3S4 | |
| State Status | W | |
| Global Rank | G5 | |
| Federal Status | ||
| subspecies |
Neotoma floridana floridana (State Threatened), Neotoma floridana haematoreia (Watch List) N. f. floridana is restricted to the southeastern Coastal Plain, whereas N. f. haematoreia is found in the mountains and adjacent foothills. | |
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| NC Map Map depicts all counties with a report (transient or resident) for the species. | Click on county for list of all database records for species in that county. |