MammalBase - Accepted taxon: Ondatra zibethicus

Accepted taxon: Ondatra zibethicus
Taxon:	Ondatra zibethicus
Rank:	Species
Higher Classification:	RODENTIA \| MYOMORPHA \| Muroidea \| Cricetidae \| Arvicolinae \| Ondatra
Reference:	Wilson, Don E., and DeeAnn M. Reeder, eds. Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), JHU Press, 2005.

Fig.1 - Ternary plot of the proximate analysis for the Ondatra zibethicus diet.
CF (Crude Fibre) 18, ASH (Ash contents) 15, NFE (Nitrogen-Free-Extract) 35, CP (Crude Protein) 26, EE (Ether Extract) 5. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 1. List of Diet Items for Ondatra zibethicus.
TSN Complete name	Part	Ratio ^a.	Reference(s)
Magnoliopsida	SHOOT	35.15	Damuth, J…
Nymphaea	SHOOT	12.50	Nowak,R. …
Typha	SHOOT	11.46	Nowak,R. …
Bivalvia	WHOLE	8.39	Damuth, J…
Animalia	WHOLE	8.33	Nowak,R. …
Anura	WHOLE	5.00	Damuth, J…
Scirpus	LEAF	4.17	Nowak,R. …
Arthropoda	WHOLE	4.17	Grzimek,B…
Osteichthyes	WHOLE	2.95	Damuth, J…
Poaceae	STEM	2.68	Nowak,R. …
Vertebrata	WHOLE	2.08	Grzimek,B…
Brachyura	WHOLE	1.79	Nowak,R. …
Astacoidea	WHOLE	1.34	Nowak,R. …

^a. Standardized values. See details for the calculations in Lintulaakso, K., Tatti, N. and Žliobaitė, I., 2022. Quantifying mammalian diets. Mammalian Biology, pp.1-15. [DOI]

Table 2. List of Standard Traits for Ondatra zibethicus.
Trait	Selected Value	All Value(s)	Reference(s)
Dietary category: Eisenberg 1981	Herbivore-Grazer	Herbivore-Grazer	– Brian K. McNab, 1986, 'The Influence of Food Habits on the Energetics of Eutherian Mammals', Ecological Monographs, vol. 56, no. 1, p. 1
Dietary category: Miljutin 2009	Herbivore	Herbivore	– Brian K. McNab, 1986, 'The Influence of Food Habits on the Energetics of Eutherian Mammals', Ecological Monographs, vol. 56, no. 1, p. 1, JOSHUA X. SAMUELS, 2009, 'Cranial morphology and dietary habits of rodents', Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. 156, no. 4, pp. 864-888
Locomotion: Eisenberg 1981	Semiaquatic	Aquatic, Semiaquatic	– Jerry O. Wolff, R. D. Guthrie, 1985, 'Why Are Aquatic Small Mammals So Large?', Oikos, vol. 45, no. 3, p. 365, Joshua X. Samuels, Blaire Van Valkenburgh, 2008, 'Skeletal indicators of locomotor adaptations in living and extinct rodents', Journal of Morphology, vol. 269, no. 11, pp. 1387-1411, Joshua X. Samuels, Blaire Van Valkenburgh, 2008, 'Skeletal indicators of locomotor adaptations in living and extinct rodents', Journal of Morphology, vol. 269, no. 11, pp. 1387-1411

Table 3. List of Standard Measurements for Ondatra zibethicus.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	10	10	-	-	-	1,278.38	-	-	Engelman,…
Body Mass (BM)	nan	g	10	10	-	-	-	1,278.38	-	-	Engelman,…

Table 4. List of other Measurements ^b. for Ondatra zibethicus.
Measurement	Location	Unit	n Total	n Unknown	n Female	n Male	Min	Mean	Max	SD	Reference(s)

^b. other Measurements. Source Measurements which are not listed on or mapped with the Standard Traits..

Table 5. List of Data Sources for Ondatra zibethicus.
Taxon	Reference	Match	Status
Ondatra zibethicus	SAMUELS,J. X., 2009, Cranial morphology and dietary habits of rodents, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	Carleton,M. D., 1980, Phylogenetic relationships in neotomine-peromyscine rodents (Muroidea) and a reappraisal of the dichotomy within New World Cricetinae,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	McNab,B. K., 1986, The influence of food habits on the energetics of eutherian mammals, Ecological Monographs	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	Wolff,J. O., 1985, Why are aquatic small mammals so large?, Oikos	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	Samuels,J. X., 2008, Skeletal indicators of locomotor adaptations in living and extinct rodents, Journal of Morphology	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	Damuth, J. 2010. ABSOLUT 6 a mammalian database compiled by the national center for ecological analysis and synthesis (NCEAS ) workshop on mammalian communities.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	Samuels, Joshua X., and Blaire Van Valkenburgh. Ã¢â‚¬Å“Skeletal Indicators of Locomotor Adaptations in Living and Extinct Rodents.Ã¢â‚¬Â J. Morphol. 269, no. 11 (November 2008): 1387Ã¢â‚¬â€œ1411. doi:10.1002/jmor.10662.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethica	Reid,F., 2006, Peterson field guide to mammals of North America,	51: Name variant or misspelling of the taxon	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	Nowak,R. M., 1991, Walker's mammals of the world,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	Grzimek,B., 2003, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia: Mammals I-V,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	Nowak,R. M., 1991, Walker's mammals of the world,	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	Herberstein, M.E., McLean, D.J., Lowe, E., Wolff, J.O., Khan, M.K., Smith, K., Allen, A.P., Bulbert, M., Buzatto, B.A., Eldridge, M.D. and Falster, D., 2022. AnimalTraits-a curated animal trait database for body mass, metabolic rate and brain size. Scientific Data, 9(1), p.265.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted
Ondatra zibethicus	Engelman, R.K., 2022. Occipital condyle width (OCW) is a highly accurate predictor of body mass in therian mammals. BMC biology, 20(1), p.37.	1: Exact Taxon match	Verified - Accepted

Citation for this page: [The MammalBase community 2026. / CC BY 4.0. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7462864 Ondatra zibethicus , Accessed 16th April 2026 at https://mammalbase.net/me/8476]