Pack rat

Pack rats Temporal range: Late Miocene – Recent
Neotoma cinerea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Superfamily:	Muroidea
Family:	Cricetidae
Subfamily:	Neotominae
Tribe:	Neotomini
Genus:	Neotoma Say & Ord, 1825

The pack rat, also known as the wood rat or trade rat, is a rodent of one of several species in the genus Neotoma. Very often, people mean the bushy-tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea). Packrats are common in the deserts and highlands of the western United States and northern Mexico. They are smaller than a usual (Old World) rat, and usually have long, sometimes bushy tails. They are also not related to the rat, other than also being a rodent.

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