Arkansas mammals

Hispid cotton rat in Arkansas

Sigmodon hispidus

Native to Arkansas S5 Secure in Arkansas

Not listed as nonindigenous in Arkansas by USGS NAS; native to its Arkansas range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Hispid cotton rat moving through short green grassHispid cotton rat crouched in leaf litter and grassHispid cotton rat feeding low in a lawnAdult hispid cotton rat with young at the edge of vegetationFront view of a hispid cotton rat holding food
Photo: Laura Mae · CC BY 4.0Hispid cotton rat moving through short green grassPhoto: Joshua Liverman · CC BY 4.0Hispid cotton rat crouched in leaf litter and grassPhoto: Cody Stricker · CC BY 4.0Hispid cotton rat feeding low in a lawnPhoto: tcantrell52 · CC BY 4.0Adult hispid cotton rat with young at the edge of vegetationPhoto: Terry Woodward · CC BY 4.0Front view of a hispid cotton rat holding food

Hispid cotton rat in Arkansas, by the numbers

Common in Arkansas 26th most recorded of 78 mammals logged in Arkansas

492 occurrence records
93 with iNaturalist photos
Mar 31, 2026 Last seen in Arkansas

Records from 2000–2026.

492 total records count every Arkansas occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 485 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Hispid cotton rat in Arkansas

Most sightings fall in April to May.

485 Arkansas occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Arkansas records (table)
MonthRecords
January9
February14
March21
April72
May86
June47
July31
August13
September10
October84
November71
December27

Monthly hispid cotton rat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Arkansas, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Arkansas, with recorded sightings peaking in April–May, with a smaller rise in October–November.

Occurrence map

Where Hispid cotton rat has been recorded in Arkansas

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Arkansas records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Chensey Prairie Natural Area 25
Sylamore Wildlife Management Area 22
Lake Poinsett State Park 1
Ozark National Forest 1
Bull Shoals White River State Park 1
Bell Slough 1

Protected places with the most hispid cotton rat sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Arkansas

CountyRecords
Stone County 192
Benton County 60
Boone County 44
Washington County 38
Sebastian County 27
Pulaski County 27
Craighead County 25
Drew County 10
Franklin County 5
Searcy County 5
Logan County 5
Miller County 4
24 other counties 50

The complete county distribution, spread across 36 Arkansas counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Hispid cotton rat records occur in Arkansas grasslands, weedy fields, and wetland edges from the Delta to upland clearings. Hot Springs National Park is one named reporting area, while open habitat around Ozark National Forest and Buffalo National River offers broader context.

Records are scattered year-round, with peaks in February and November. Small-mammal survey effort can dominate this pattern, so it should not be read as a population cycle.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Hispid cotton rat moving through short green grass
Full species profile Hispid cotton rat Sigmodon hispidus Size 18.5 cm7.3 in Weight 160 g5.6 oz Lifespan Up to 5.2 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Arkansas in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"