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The Zone-tailed Ranch, Mohave County, Arizona
Mammals of the Zone-tailed Ranch, Mohave County, Arizona

The Zone-tail Ranch is a 320 acre (half of a section; one mile long and half a mile wide) piece of beautiful desert near the crest of the Aquarius Mountains, Arizona, at an elevation of about 5000 feet. It is located east of Kingman (east of US-93) and south of I-40.

The land is rocky canyon country with cliffs, seasonal streams, and perennial springs. The Zone-tail Ranch is just above the level of the cliffs where the land starts to flatten out, and includes one major mountain top and one major canyon. Vegetation is dominated by juniper with some pinyon, oak, cactus, yucca, and a diverse collection of shrubs and annual plants. It is transitional between the pinyon-juniper highland and the Sonoran Desert lowlands. Perennial vegetation probably covers no more than 20% of the ground.

We have a diversity of mammals at the ranch. We have seen javelina and mule deer, but these are hunted and so are shy. We see a lot of javelina sign in certain places, but only a few pigs. In the fall of 1996, we saw a large group of about 15 adult javelina and one juvenile, but in September 1997, we saw a group of six adults and about seven juveniles. I guess it was a good year. We also have lots of rabbits (cottontail and jack rabbits), ground squirrels (rock and antelope), and rats (woodrats, kangaroo rats, deer mice) that provide food for skunks, coyotes, foxes, and probably some cats.

The following is a list of species that might occur in the vicinity of the Zone-tailed Ranch. Species seen are marked with an asterisk (*). If you have an interest in Arizona mammals, send us a note.

Order Family Subfamily Species Name Common Name
Insectivora
Soricidae
Sorex merriami Merriam's shrew
Sorex vagrans vagrant shrew
Notiosorex crawfordi desert (gray) shrew
Chiroptera
Phylostomatidae
Macrotus waterhousii (californicus) california leaf-nosed bat
Vespertilionidae  
Myotis californicus california myotis
Myotis ciliolabrum (M. subulatus, M. leibii) western small-footed myotis
Myotis evotis long-eared myotis
Myotis lucifugus little brown myotis
Myotis occultus arizona myotis
Myotis thysanodes fringed myotis
Myotis volans long-legged myotis
Myotis velifer cave myotis
Myotis yumanensis yuma myotis
Lasiurus blossevillii (L. borealus) western red bat
Lasiurus cinereus hoary bat
Lasionycteris noctivagans silver-haired bat
Pipistrellus hesperus western pipistrelle
Eptesicus fuscus big brown bat
Euderma maculatum spotted bat
Euderma phyllote (Plecotus, Idionycteris) allen's big-eared bat
Corynorhinus (Plecotus) townsendii townsend's big-eared bat
Antrozous pallidus pallid bat
Molossidae  
Tadarida brasiliensis Brazilian free-tailed bat
Nyctinomops (Tadarida) femorosaccus pocketed free-tailed bat
Nyctinomops macrotis (Tadarida molossa) big free-tailed bat
Eumops perotis western mastiff bat
Lagomorpha
Leporidae
Sylvilagus audubonii * desert cottontail
Sylvilagus floridanus eastern cottontail
Lepus californicus * black-tailed jack rabbit
Rodentia
Sciuridae
Spermophilus (Citellus) tereticaudus round-tailed ground squirrel
Spermophilus (Citellus) variegatus * rock squirrel
Ammospermophilus harrisi * yuma antelope squirrel
Tamias (Eutamias) dorsalis * cliff chipmunk
Geomyidae
Thomomys bottae * valley pocket gopher
Heteromyidae
Chaetodipus (Perognathus) penicillatus desert pocket mouse
Chaetodipus (Perognathus) intermedius * rock pocket mouse
Perognathus amplus arizona pocket mouse
Perognathus flavus silky pocket mouse
Dipodomys deserti desert kangaroo rat
Dipodomys merriami * merriam's kangaroo rat
Dipodomys ordii ord's kangaroo rat
Muridae
Sigmodontinae
Reithrodontomys megalotis western harvest mouse
Peromyscus boylii * brush mouse
Peromyscus crinitus * canyon mouse
Peromyscus eremicus * cactus mouse
Peromyscus maniculatus * deer mouse
Peromyscus truei * pinyon mouse
Onychomys leucogaster northern grasshopper mouse
Onychomys torridus southern grasshopper mouse
Sigmodon hispidus hispid cotton rat
Neotoma lepida desert woodrat
Neotoma albigula * whitethroat woodrat
Neotoma stephensi * stephens woodrat
Arvicolinae
Microtus mexicanus mexican vole
Erethizontidae
Ondatra zibethicus muskrat
Erethizon dorsatum common porcupine
Carnivora
Canidae
Canis latrans coyote
Vulpes velox (V. macrotus) swift or kit fox
Urocyon cinereoargenteus * gray fox
Procyonidae
Bassariscus astutus ringtail
Procyon lotor * raccoon
Mustelidae
Mustela frenata
Lutra canadensis
Taxidea taxus
Spilogale gracilis (putorius)
Mephitis mephitis
Conepatus leuconotus
Mephitus macroura
Felidae
Puma (Felis) concolor * mountain lion
Lynx rufus bobcat
Perissodactyla
Equidae
Equus caballus * wild horse
Artiodactyla
Cervidae
Odocoileus hemionus * mule deer
Antilocapridae
Antilocapra americana pronghorn
Bovidae
Ovis canadensis desert bighorn sheep
Bos taurus * domestic cow
Tayassuidae
Pecari tajacu * javelina
 
Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
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