Stats

Lifespan: Up to 1 yr
Size: Medium
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Cathemeral
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: North America
Movement: Running
Breeding: Live birth
Defense: Speed
Status: Uncommon

About

A coarse-furred grassland rat of the southern and eastern United States, named for its bristly, grizzled coat rather than any taste for cotton. It breeds prolifically year-round and builds a maze of surface runways through dense grass to move unseen from predators.

Life cycle

1.
newborn pup
A blind, hairless pup nurses in the nest and is unable to regulate its own warmth.
2.
juvenile
A weaned juvenile is fully furred, leaves the nest, and begins foraging on solid food.
3.
adult
Fully grown and self-sufficient.

Learn more

View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Cricetidae
Genus: Sigmodon
Species: Sigmodon hispidus