California mammals

White-throated Woodrat in California

Neotoma albigula

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

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

Whitethroat Woodrat - (Neotoma albigula) (9853933874)White-throated woodrat climbing through leafy desert shrubsWhite-throated woodrat peering through dry sticksWhite-throated woodrat looking out from rock and cactus coverWhite-throated woodrat moving across shaded woodland litter
Photo: Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Whitethroat Woodrat - (Neotoma albigula) (9853933874)Photo: Gjon Hazard · CC BY 4.0White-throated woodrat climbing through leafy desert shrubsPhoto: Juan Cruzado Cortés · CC BY 4.0White-throated woodrat peering through dry sticksPhoto: steve b · CC0White-throated woodrat looking out from rock and cactus coverPhoto: Wendy McCrady · CC BY 4.0White-throated woodrat moving across shaded woodland litter

White-throated Woodrat in California, by the numbers

Rare in California 166th most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

252 occurrence records
4 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

252 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 243; the monthly chart covers the 238 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the White-throated Woodrat in California

Most sightings fall in April.

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

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January29
February19
March24
April56
May28
June10
July17
August2
September12
October9
November2
December30

Monthly white-throated woodrat occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in April.

Occurrence map

Where White-throated Woodrat has been recorded in California

243 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

243 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Indian Pass Wilderness Area 8
Joshua Tree National Park 3
Riverside Mountains Wilderness Area 2
San Felipe Creek Ecological Reserve 1

Protected places with the most white-throated woodrat 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 California

CountyRecords
Imperial County 150
Riverside County 55
San Diego County 23
San Bernardino County 11
Nevada County 1
San Luis Obispo County 1
Inyo County 1
Santa Barbara County 1
Other localities 9

The complete county distribution, spread across 8 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

California’s combined state files contain 256 White-throated Woodrat records: 4 from iNaturalist and 252 from GBIF. It ranks 168th among 243 mammals in this California record comparison, placing it in the lower third. That’s a ranking of submitted records, not a head count of animals.

The monthly series reaches its high point in April, with 12 records in the busiest month. Records appear in 10 of 12 months, so the pattern shows when sightings were documented, not when the species must be present or absent.

California accounts for about 2% of the mapped GBIF records summarized on the national White-throated Woodrat page. That’s a small share of the known record footprint, though differences in survey effort can strongly shape the percentage.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Whitethroat Woodrat - (Neotoma albigula) (9853933874)
Full species profile White-throated Woodrat Neotoma albigula Size 19.6 cm7.7 in Weight 191 g6.7 oz Lifespan 6 yr View the full profile

More mammals in California 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"