Ondatra zibethicus

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Click on the language to view common names.

Description

Physical Description

Habitat

Typically found in a lake at a mean distance from sea level of 451 meters (1,478 feet).[2]

Ecology: Muskrats are found in brackish and fresh-water lakes , ponds , streams , rivers , and marshes. Depending on the location, they will either dig burrows into waterside banks, or construct houses of vegitation. Houses are built so that the main chambers are above water level, but can only be entered through underwater tunnels. Separate structures are constructed for feeding and nesting (Feldhamer, 1999 in Wilson and Ruff, 1999). Muskrats exhibit many morphological adaptations for aquatic life, including lips that close behind incisors to allow gnawing under water, partially webbed hindfeet, and the ability to stay submerged for up to 20 minutes. Muskrats are primarily herbivorous, feeding on aquatic vegiation such as cattails and horsetails. During periods of food scarcity, individuals will also consume animal matter such as mussels, turtles, mice, birds, frogs and fish (Wilner et al., 1980)[3].

List of Habitats :

•     5     Wetlands (inland)   
  
•     5.1     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls )   
  
•     5.4     Wetlands (inland) - Bogs , Marshes, Swamps , Fens , Peatlands   
  
•     5.5     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)   
  
•     5.7     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)   
  
•     5.14     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes   
  
•     5.16     Wetlands (inland) - Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Marshes/Pools   
  
•     15     Artificial/Aquatic & Marine   
  
•     15.1     Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha)   
  
•     15.2     Artificial/Aquatic - Ponds (below 8ha)   
[more info]

Biology

Diet

Muskrats are primarily herbivorous but they will eat carrion , fish, crayfish and molluscs .[1]

Behavior

Several muskrats may share a lodge and together increase the temperature inside a lodge to as much as 20 degrees C above outside temperature. The construction of lodges occurs from late August until late October. Building on a platform of mud , the muskrat uses small aquatic plants such as cattails, sedges, weeds , leaves, sticks and more mud until the structure is about 2 feet high. Then the muskrat excavates from inside and hollows out an area to fit a family . This interior is usually 3 ft . to 5 ft in diameter with wall thickness from 3 inches to 12 inches. In this “muskrat rooming house” each family member may construct its own sleeping quarters. There will typically be one to two plunge holes leading to tunnels that connect the lodge to the open water .[1]

Taxonomy

Synonyms

Castor zibethicus • Castor zibethicus Linnaeus • Ondatra americana Tiedemann

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 09-Jun-2004

Similar Species

Members of the genus Ondatra

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 4 species and subspecies in this genus:

O. obscura (Muskrat) · O. zibethicus (Muskbeaver) · O. zibethicus ripensis (Pecos River Muskrat) · O. zibethicus zibethicus (Muskbeaver)

More Info

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Further Reading

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• A list of the generic and family names of rodents / by T.S. Palmer. Washington: Biological Society of Washington, 1897. url p. 259.
• A survey of natural areas in Tyrrell County, North Carolina: for The North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Coastal Natural Area Inventory Project / Raleigh: North Carolina Coastal Energy Impact Program, Office of Coastal Management, North Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources and Community Development, [1982?] url p. 13.
• Advances in the study of mammalian behavior / edited by John F. Eisenberg and Devra G. Kleiman. [Stillwater, Okla.]: American Society of Mammalogists; 1983. url p. 161, p. 173, p. 185.
• An ecological characterization of Coastal Maine (north and east of Cape Elizabeth) / Stewart I. Fefer and Patricia S. Schettig: principal investigators. Newton Corner, Mass.: Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northeast Region, 1980. url .
• Annual report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. Washington: Smithsonian Institution, -1965. url p. 105, p. 112.
• Appendices A-E: terrestrial resources injury assessment report: upper Clark Fork River NPL sites. Helena?, Mont.: Dept. of Justice?, 1995 url .
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Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• Linzey, A.V. 2008. Ondatra zibethicus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 03February2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 26, 2007:

• Louisiana State University Museum of Natural Science, Mammal specimens
• Mammal Research Institute PAS, Mammal Collection
• Marine Science Institute, UCSB, Paleobiology Database
• Michigan State University Museum, Vertebrate specimens
• Museum of Texas Tech University
• , Mammal specimens
• Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
• Royal Ontario Museum, Mammal specimens
• Sternberg Museum of Natural History, Mammal Collection
• UK National Biodiversity Network, Biological Records Centre - Mammal records from Britain from the Atlas of Mammals
• , with some subsequent records
• UNIBIO, IBUNAM, CNMA/Coleccion Nacional de Mamiferos
• University of Alaska Museum of the North, University of Alaska Museum Mammal Collection
• University of Alaska Museum of the North, University of New Mexico Museum of Southwestern Biology Mammal Collection

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 108006
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-552810
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 4490920
• Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 180318
• IUCN ID: 228082
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: AMAFF15010
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 178844

Footnotes

1. New Mexico Wildlife. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Version of April 24, 2009. [back]
2. Standard Deviation = 638.060 based on 1,357 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
3. Linzey, A.V. 2008. Ondatra zibethicus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 03 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.