Florida mammals

Round-tailed Muskrat in Florida

Neofiber alleni

Native to Florida S2 Imperiled in Florida

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

Round-tailed muskrat swimming at the surface among aquatic vegetationAI-generated image: Round-tailed muskrat grooming on a grassy hummock in a marsh. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyAI-generated image: Round-tailed muskrat feeding on a stem at the water edge. No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracy
Photo: Richard Stovall · CC BY 4.0Round-tailed muskrat swimming at the surface among aquatic vegetationAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyRound-tailed muskrat grooming on a grassy hummock in a marshAI-generated image No additional license-safe photograph of this species exists. This image was generated with AI from verified reference material and reviewed by our editorial team for accuracyRound-tailed muskrat feeding on a stem at the water edge

Round-tailed Muskrat in Florida, by the numbers

Occasional in Florida 62nd most recorded of 116 mammals logged in Florida

1,600 occurrence records
40 with iNaturalist photos
May 30, 2026 Last seen in Florida

1,600 total records count every Florida occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 1,274 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Round-tailed Muskrat in Florida

Most sightings fall in February to April.

1,274 Florida occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Florida records (table)
MonthRecords
January95
February143
March231
April170
May53
June68
July128
August141
September34
October49
November80
December82

Monthly round-tailed muskrat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Florida.

Seasonality

Year-round in Florida, with recorded sightings peaking in February–April, with a smaller rise in August.

Occurrence map

Where Round-tailed Muskrat has been recorded in Florida

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Florida records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Ichetucknee Springs State Park 128
Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park 38
Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Area 17
Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway State Recreation and Conservation Area 11
Ordway-Swisher Biological Station 3
Holey Land Wildlife Management Area 1
Spirit of the Wild Wildlife Management Area 1
Crooked Lake Wildlife and Environmental Area 1

Protected places with the most round-tailed muskrat 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 Florida

CountyRecords
Alachua County 531
Palm Beach County 283
Columbia County 128
Indian River County 109
Marion County 107
Citrus County 68
Pinellas County 61
Brevard County 37
Leon County 32
Miami-Dade County 31
Levy County 31
Putnam County 25
31 other counties 157

The complete county distribution, spread across 43 Florida counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Florida’s 1,588 round-tailed muskrat records come entirely from GBIF, with no iNaturalist observations logged for the state. Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park anchors the named site data, though with only a single record listed there, it marks a place the species is documented rather than a proven stronghold. NatureServe ranks the species S2, imperiled in Florida, even though the statewide record count is far from sparse.

March produces the most reports, with 227, notably ahead of April’s 170 and February’s 143. That spring bump could reflect more trapping, survey, or marsh access during those months rather than a real seasonal shift in muskrat activity, and it doesn’t reveal how many marshes across the state actually hold populations.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Round-tailed muskrat swimming at the surface among aquatic vegetation
Full species profile Round-tailed Muskrat Neofiber alleni Size 21.3 cm8.4 in Weight 265 g9.3 oz View the full profile

More mammals in Florida in the atlas

Data & sources

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