 In other words, the Key Largo woodrat, and its smaller cousin the Key Largo cotton mouse ("Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola") are in subfamily Neotominae, along with most native North American rats and mice, and are only distantly related to the "true rats," including members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, "Rattus rattus", and the brown rat, "Rattus norvegicus".Many members of other rodent genera and families are also referred to as rats, and share many characteristics with true rats.is considered more as a type of mouse due to its similar behavior and physical characteristics.One of the favored habitats of the woodrat comes under the protection of the hardwood hammocks.