Cotton rat
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Sigmodon alleni |
A cotton rat is any member of the Sigmodon genus of rodents. They are called cotton rats because they build their nests out of cotton, and can damage cotton crops. Cotton rats have small ears and dark coats, and are found in North and South America.
The molars of cotton rats are S-shaped when viewed from above. The genus name literally means S-tooth.
Sigmodon hispidus was the first model organism to be used in polio research.
[edit] Classification
- Genus Sigmodon
- Subgenus Sigmodon
- Sigmodon hispidus species group
- Sigmodon alleni - Allen's Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon arizonae - Arizona Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon hirsutus - Southern Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon hispidus - Hispid Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon mascotensis - West Mexican Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon ochrognathus - Yellow-nosed Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon planifrons - Miahuatlán Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon toltecus - Toltec Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon zanjonensis - Montane Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon fulviventer species group
- Sigmodon fulviventer - Tawny-bellied Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon inopinatus - Ecuadorian Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon leucotis - White-eared Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon peruanus - Peruvian Cotton Rat
- Sigmodon hispidus species group
- Subgenus Sigmomys
- Sigmodon alstoni - Alston's Cotton Rat
- Subgenus Sigmodon
[edit] References
- Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 1993. Family Muridae. Pp. 501-755 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.
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