Eastern Woodrat
Neotoma floridana (Ord, 1818)
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order | Rodentia |
| Family | Cricetidae |
| Genus | Neotoma |
| Species | Neotoma floridana (Ord, 1818) |
Description
Diagnostic characters
- Ecological class
- Trogloxene
- Realm
- Terrestrial
- Eyes
- Normal
- Pigment
- Normal
Morphological description
Body size
Type series
Similar species
Distribution
Range
Known from 19 counties across five states across three karst regions.
Continent
North America
Country
United States
States and provinces
Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma
Counties
- Alabama
- Bibb, DeKalb, Marshall
- Arkansas
- Baxter, Fulton, Izard, Lawrence, Marion, Polk, Searcy, Stone
- Florida
- Alachua, Columbia, Jackson, Marion, Suwannee
- Georgia
- Dade, Walker
- Oklahoma
- Delaware
Karst regions
Florida Lime Sinks, Interior Low Plateau, Ozarks
Habitat
- Terrestrial habitat
- Cave floor and breakdown, Rock fissures and crevices, Mine or artificial
- Cave zone
- Entrance, Twilight
Ecology and life history
Reproduction
Development
Diet
Predators
Population ecology
Community associates
Diseases and parasites
Behavior
Genetics
Phylogenetics
Population genetics
Genetic resources
Conservation and management
IUCN Red List
LC Least Concern
Assessed in 2016.
NatureServe
G5 Secure
National ranks
- United States
- N5 Secure
Subnational ranks
- Illinois
- S2 Imperiled
- North Carolina
- S3 Vulnerable
- Alabama
- S4 Apparently Secure
- South Carolina
- S3 Vulnerable
- Texas
- S5 Secure
- Arkansas
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Oklahoma
- SNR Unranked
- Missouri
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Georgia
- S5 Secure
- Kansas
- S5 Secure
- Tennessee
- SNR Unranked
- Louisiana
- S4 Apparently Secure
- Colorado
- S3 Vulnerable
- Mississippi
- SNR Unranked
- Florida
- S5 Secure
- Nebraska
- SNR Unranked
Ranks looked up 2 August 2026. Conservation status changes, and a rank here is as current as that date and no more.
State and federal status
Endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.
References
- Dunivan, J.D., Tumlison, C.R. & McDaniel, V.R. 1982. Cave fauna of Arkansas: further records. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 36: 87–88. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol36/iss1/28. details
- Fenolio, D.B., Slay, M.E. & Niemiller, M.L. 2023b. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2023 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 24 pp.
- Fenolio, D.B., Slay, M.E., Niemiller, M.L. & Richard, K. 2024. Biological inventories of caves in the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma: December 2024 field report. Report to Oklahoma Biological Survey. San Antonio Zoo, San Antonio, Texas, USA. 17 pp.
- Franz, R., Bauer, J. & Morris, T. 1994. Review of biologically significant caves and their faunas in Florida and south Georgia. Brimleyana 20: 1–109. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/229726. details
- Heath, D.R., Saugey, D.A. & Heidt, G.A. 1986. Abandoned mine fauna of the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas: vertebrate taxa. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 40: 33–36.
- Mays, J. 2018. Inventory of Florida's cave fauna with a focus on terrestrial invertebrate species. Progress Report for Florida Park Service. Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, Tallahassee, Florida, USA. 9 pp.
- McDaniel, V.R. & Gardner, J.E. 1977. Cave fauna of Arkansas: vertebrate taxa. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science 31: 68–71. https://scholarworks.uark.edu/jaas/vol31/iss1/22. details
- McGregor, S.W., O'Neil, P.E., Rheams, K.F., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1997. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin 166: 1–198.
- McGregor, S.W., Rheams, K.F., O'Neil, P.E., Moser, P.H. & Blackwood, R. 1994. Biological, geological, and hydrological investigations in Bobcat, Matthews, and Shelta caves and other selected caves in north Alabama. Geological Survey of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. 226 pp.
- Zigler, K.S., Niemiller, M.L., Stephen, C.D.R., Ayala, B.N., Milne, M.A., Gladstone, N.S., Engel, A.S., Jensen, J.B., Camp, C.D., Ozier, J.C. & Cressler, A. 2020. Biodiversity from caves and other subterranean habitats of Georgia, USA. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 82: 125–167. doi:10.4311/2019LSC0125
This account was last revised 19 September 2026. Conservation ranks were looked up 2 August 2026.
How to cite this account
Neotoma floridana (Ord, 1818). Cave Biology Data Portal, account SP-2708. https://cavebiology.org/species/neotoma-floridana/ (accessed 22 October 2026).
Data sources and funding are listed in the Acknowledgments.
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