116 



ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



Streatoe Wood Rat. Neotoma fuscipes streatori Merriam 



Field characters. — Form and size about those of House Eat, but tail shorter than 

 head and body (fig. 13); tail round, closely haired, not bushy (fig. 12fe); pelage soft 

 and smooth; ear rather large, rounded. Head and body 7^/4 to 8^/4 inches (183-209 mm.), 

 tail 61/^ to 7y2 inches (165-191 mm.), hind foot about 1^/2 inches (35-38 mm.), ear 

 from crown 1 to 1^ inches (24-32 mm.), weight 7I/4 to 8% ounces (206-247 grams). 

 Coloration brownish gray with a general overlay of black hair tippings; whole under 

 surface of body, under side of tail, and upper surface of feet, white. 



Workings. — Nests or 'houses,' 2 to 3 feet high, conical in shape, composed of twigs, 

 leaves, chunks of wood, etc. ; placed on ground beneath brush plants or trees, or, less 

 often, on horizontal branches of oak trees at height of several feet from ground. Drop- 

 pings: Cylindrical, about % inch long and % inch in diameter, scattered in and about 

 nest, or at intervals along runways. 



Occurrence. — Common resident chiefly in 

 Upper Sonoran Zone and lower part of Tran- 

 sition Zone, on west slope of Sierra Nevada. 

 Eecorded from Snelling and Pleasant Valley 

 eastward to floor of Yosemite Valley. Lives 

 in mixed stands of trees and brush, occasion- 

 ally among rocks. Chiefly nocturnal. 



The Streator Wood Rat is well 

 known to residents of the foothill 

 country of east-central California. 

 The animal itself is seldom seen, but 

 evidence of its presence in the form 

 of large nests or 'houses' is to be 

 observed in many places. This animal 

 is often referred to as 'pack rat' or 

 'trade rat' by reason of its propensity 

 for carrying articles from place to 

 place in and about cabins or camping 

 places. 



The Streator Wood Rat is close to 

 the house rat in size, the length of body 

 and the weight being about the same 

 in the two; but the wood rat's tail is 

 shorter than its head and body, while 

 the reverse is true of the roof rat. The 

 pelage of the wood rat is rather short, 

 with no conspicuous coarse over-hairs; 

 it is dense and even, and feels soft to 

 the touch. The coloration above varies 

 from blue gray in the younger ani- 

 mals to sandy brown in adults. Very 



Fig. 12. Tails of (a) Alexandrine 

 Eoof Eat, (&) Streator Wood Eat, and 

 (c) Gray Bushy-tailed Wood Eat. One- 

 half natural size. 



