Cotton rat

A cotton rat is any member of the rodent genus Sigmodon. Cotton rats have small ears and dark coats, and are found in North and South America. Members of this genus are distributed in the Southwestern USA, Mexico, Central America and South American countries of: Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Guyana and Suriname. Many of the species are found in Mexico.

Cotton rats
Temporal range: Early Pliocene - Recent
Hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Sigmodontinae
Tribe: Sigmodontini
Wagner, 1843
Genus: Sigmodon
Say & Ord, 1825
Species

Sigmodon alleni
Sigmodon alstoni
Sigmodon arizonae
Sigmodon fulviventer
Sigmodon hirsutus
Sigmodon hispidus
Sigmodon inopinatus
Sigmodon leucotis
Sigmodon mascotensis
Sigmodon ochrognathus
Sigmodon peruanus
Sigmodon planifrons
Sigmodon toltecus
Sigmodon zanjonensis

They are primarily herbivores. 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.

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 - Jaliscan 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 - unexpected cotton rat
        • Sigmodon leucotis - white-eared cotton rat
        • Sigmodon peruanus - Peruvian cotton rat
    • Subgenus Sigmomys
      • Sigmodon alstoni - Alston's cotton rat
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References
    • Musser, G.G.; Carleton, M.D. (2005). "Superfamily Muroidea". In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 894–1531. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
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