195.

Bolanos Woodrat

Neotoma palatina

French: Néotoma de Bolanos / German: Jalisco-Buschratte / Spanish: Rata de bosque de Bolanos

Taxonomy. Neotoma palatina Goldman, 1905, Bolanos, 2800 ft (= 853 m), Jalisco, Mexico .

This species is monotypic.

Distribution. Restricted to the type locality and surrounding areas in NE Jalisco and SE Zacatecas states (WC Mexico).

Descriptive notes. Head-body 182-224 mm, tail 144-180 mm, ear 28-32 mm, hindfoot 34-39 mm; weight 198 g. The Bolanos Woodrat is one of the larger species of woodrats. Dorsal pelage is short and rough and darker than on most woodrats because of black hairs. Sides and cheeks are pale cinnamon. Belly is whitish, with chest and snout grayish brown, and feet are white. Ears are relatively small compared with overall body size. Tail is sparsely haired and bicolored, blackish above and whitish gray below. The Bolanos Woodrat differs from the Southern Plains Woodrat (N. micropus), the White-throated Woodrat (N. albigula), and Goldman’s Woodrat (N. goldmani) by absence of sphenopalatine vacuities. The Bolanos Woodrat differs from the Whitethroated Woodrat and the Desert Woodrat (NN. lepida) by its bicolored tail. Reentering antero-internal angle in M' extends less than halfway across crown.

Habitat. Xeric scrubland habitats, typically associated with pronounced slopes along sandbanks and rocky environments, including rock walls, at elevations of 938-1904 m. The Bolanos Woodrat is an endemic to western Mexico and is only known in a small area of the west-central Mexican Altiplano.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. One female Bolanos Woodrat had an embryo in August.

Activity patterns. The Bolanos Woodrat is presumably nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCN Red List. Restricted distribution and very few sightings of Bolanos Woodrats suggest the need to reassessits current conservation status.

Bibliography. Goldman (1905), Hall (1981), Hall & Genoways (1970), Matson & Baker (1986), Romero & Sanchez (2014).