Neotoma magister

Abstract

External morphology of N. magister (Fig. Although N. magister generally is larger in mass and with longer vibrissae, identification based on single measurements is unreliable because of morphometric overlap Multivariate comparisons of cranial characters (Fig. North-south clinal variation does not account for the differences The most reliable character for identifying N. magister is the presence of a maxillovomerine notch (present in all 418 N. magister skulls but in only 0.2% of 457 N. floridana skulls-Hayes and Richmond 1993). Additionally, only 1.7% of N. magister skulls exhibited bifurcation of the anterior palatal spine, whereas 70.9% of N. floridana skulls exhibited some degree of bifurcation.