NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Bushy-tailed Woodrat
Neotoma (Teonoma) cinerea (Ord, 1815)
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 bushy-tailed woodrat, or packrat (Neotoma cinerea) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae found in Canada and the United States.
Its natural habitats are boreal forests, temperate forests, dry savanna, temperate shrubland, and temperate grassland.
The bushy-tailed woodrat is the original "pack rat", the species in which the trading habit is most pronounced. It has a strong preference for shiny objects and will drop whatever it may be carrying in favor of a coin or a spoon.
Wikipedia contributors, Bushy-tailed woodrat; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:42:08.951593+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Neotoma (Teonoma) cinerea (Ord, 1815)
- Name authority
- (Ord, 1815)
- Common name
- Bushy-tailed 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
- subgenusTeonoma Gray, 1843
- speciesNeotoma (Teonoma) cinerea (Ord, 1815)
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| White-throated WoodratNeotoma (Neotoma) albigula Hartley, 1894 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Myoxus drummondii Richardson, 1828 Richardson, 1828 | synonym |
| Neotoma arizonae Merriam, 1893 Merriam, 1893 | synonym |
| Neotoma cinnamomea J. A. Allen, 1895 J. A. Allen, 1895 | synonym |
| Neotoma grangeri J. A. Allen, 1894 J. A. Allen, 1894 | synonym |
| Neotoma occidentalis Baird, 1855 Baird, 1855 | synonym |
| Neotoma saxamans Osgood, 1900 Osgood, 1900 | synonym |
| Neotoma cinerea alticola Hooper, 1940 Hooper, 1940 | synonym |
| Neotoma cinerea columbiana Elliot, 1899 Elliot, 1899 | synonym |
| Neotoma fuscus apicalis Elliot, 1903 Elliot, 1903 | synonym |
| Neotoma occidentalis fusca True, 1894 True, 1894 | synonym |
| Neotoma orolestes Merriam, 1894 Merriam, 1894 | synonym |
| Neotoma cinerea lucida Goldman, 1917 Goldman, 1917 | synonym |
| Neotoma cinerea macrodon Kelson, 1949 Kelson, 1949 | synonym |
| Neotoma cinerea pulla Hooper, 1940 Hooper, 1940 | synonym |
| Teonoma cinerea acraea Elliot, 1904 Elliot, 1904 | synonym |
| Teonoma cinerea acraia Elliot, 1904 Elliot, 1904 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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=180371 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:46VC8. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.