The Jaliscan cotton rat or Mexican cotton rat (Sigmodon mascotensis) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico. They commonly have brown fur with white fur on the belly.[2] They are ground-dwelling and prefer open habitats.[3]
The Mexican cotton rat is endemic to Mexico and is distributed along the western coast of the country.[1] This area is located in the tropical deciduous forest biome, and the Mexican cotton rat prefers to reside in the open, grassy areas with dense areas of ground-level vegetation and little to no trees.[3] However, these rats will occupy a variety of habitats when their populations grow in size.[3] The Mexican cotton rat coexists cooperatively with other similar rodents in the ecosystem.[3]
The Mexican cotton rat belongs to the family Cricetidae in the order Rodentia.[4] While it used to be considered a subspecies of Sigmodon hispidus (Hispid cotton rat), the Mexican cotton rat was designated as its own species after an ancestral karyotype study.[4] The Mexican cotton rat and the Hispid cotton rat can be distinguished chromosomally as well as by different skull characteristics.[2]
Hantavirus is spread to humans through exposure to rodent fecal matter or by rodent bites and can become fatal.[5] Different species of rodents can carry different strains of hantavirus.[5] The Mexican cotton rat has been found to be one of the more prevalent carriers of hantavirus due its high amount of hantaviral antibodies.[5] The hantavirus that the Mexican cotton rat carries is a unique genotype of this virus, which is also carried by Oryzomys couesi (Coues's rice rat).[5]
The Jaliscan cotton rat or Mexican cotton rat (Sigmodon mascotensis) is a species of rodent in the family Cricetidae. It is found only in Mexico. They commonly have brown fur with white fur on the belly. They are ground-dwelling and prefer open habitats.
