NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
White-throated Woodrat
Neotoma (Neotoma) albigula Hartley, 1894
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The white-throated woodrat (Neotoma albigula) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found from central Mexico north to Utah and Colorado in the United States. It is primarily a western species in the United States, extending from central Texas west to southeastern California. Populations east of the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Trans-Pecos Texas, previously considered to be variants of the white-throated woodrat, have since 1988 been assigned to the white-toothed woodrat (N. leucodon). The animal lives mostly in the Upper and Lower Sonoran life zones, occurring from pinyon-juniper woodland in higher country to desert habitats at lower elevations. As with other species of woodrats, the white-throated woodrat constructs middens of a variety of materials such as sticks, cactus parts, and miscellaneous debris. An above-ground chamber within the midden contains a nest lined with grasses and kept free of feces. In non-rocky areas, the den usually is several feet in diameter and most commonly built around the base of a shrub that gives additional cover.
Wikipedia contributors, White-throated woodrat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:52:53.574861+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Neotoma (Neotoma) albigula Hartley, 1894
- Name authority
- Hartley, 1894
- Common name
- White-throated Woodrat
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Cricetidae
- Genus
- Neotoma
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderMyomorpha Brandt, 1855
- superfamilyMuroidea Illiger, 1811
- familyCricetidae Fischer, 1817
- subfamilyNeotominae Merriam, 1894
- genusNeotoma Say & Ord, 1825
- subgenusNeotoma Say & Ord, 1825
- speciesNeotoma (Neotoma) albigula Hartley, 1894
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Neotoma. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Bushy-tailed WoodratNeotoma (Teonoma) cinerea (Ord, 1815) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Arizona WoodratNeotoma (Neotoma) devia Goldman, 1927 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dusky-footed WoodratNeotoma (Neotoma) fuscipes Baird, 1857 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Goldman's WoodratNeotoma (Neotoma) goldmani Merriam, 1903 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-toothed WoodratNeotoma (Neotoma) leucodon Merriam, 1894 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Allegheny WoodratNeotoma (Neotoma) magister Baird, 1857 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Turner Island woodratNeotoma (Neotoma) varia Burt, 1932 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sonoran WoodratNeotoma (Teanopus) phenax (Merriam, 1903) | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tamaulipan WoodratNeotoma (Neotoma) angustapalata Baker, 1951 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bryant's WoodratNeotoma (Neotoma) bryanti Merriam, 1887 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Bunker's Wood RatNeotoma (Neotoma) bunkeri Burt, 1932 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Nicaraguan WoodratNeotoma (Neotoma) chrysomelas J. A. Allen, 1908 | CricetidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Neotoma albigula brevicauda Durrant, 1934 Durrant, 1934 | synonym |
| Neotoma albigula laplataensis F. W. Miller, 1933 F. W. Miller, 1933 | synonym |
| Neotoma albigula mearnsi Goldman, 1915 Goldman, 1915 | synonym |
| Neotoma desertorum grandis Elliot, 1904 Elliot, 1904 | synonym |
| Neotoma intermedia angusticeps Merriam, 1894 Merriam, 1894 | synonym |
| Neotoma intermedia melanura Merriam, 1894 Merriam, 1894 | synonym |
| Neotoma cumulator Mearns, 1897 Mearns, 1897 | synonym |
| Neotoma venusta True, 1894 True, 1894 | synonym |
| Neotoma albigula seri Townsend, 1912 Townsend, 1912 | synonym |
| Neotoma albigula sheldoni Goldman, 1915 Goldman, 1915 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180370 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:46VBS. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.