| Texas pocket gopher | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Geomyidae |
| Genus: | Geomys |
| Species: | G. personatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Geomys personatus F. W. True, 1889 | |
The Texas pocket gopher (Geomys personatus) is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. [2] It is found in Tamaulipas in Mexico and in Texas in the United States. [1]
Males grow to a length of about 32 cm (12.6 in) including a tail of about 11 cm (4.3 in). Females are slightly smaller and both sexes weigh about 400 grams (14 oz). The dorsal surface is a dull greyish-brown and the ventral surface is whitish with darker patches. There is very little hair on the tail especially near the tip. The upper incisors have a pair of grooves. [3]
The Texas pocket gopher is found in southern Texas as far north as Val Verde County and San Patricio County, [3] and the state of Tamaulipas, the most north-easterly part of Mexico. [1] Its range is patchy and disjointed, similarly to other Geomys species. It is common in the sand drifts on Mustang and Padre islands in the Gulf of Mexico. [3] The population around Maverick County, Zavala County, and Dimmit County was recently recognized as a distinct species, Strecker's pocket gopher. [1] [4]
A single Texas pocket gopher occupies a burrow system that may have short side branches and about 30 m (98 ft) of passages. It defends its burrow against intruders, emitting a wheezy call and gnashing its teeth. [3] It mainly stays underground and plugs the surface entrances with soil. [5] The spoil heap of excavated soil can be 50 cm (20 in) across and 12 cm (5 in) high. The Texas pocket gopher feeds on the roots of grasses such as paspalum (Paspalum), Bermuda grass (Cynodon), and sandbur (Cenchrus) and consumes all parts of a composite plant in the sunflower genus Helianthus . It avoids emerging onto the surface of the ground, where it is at risk from predators, by seizing the roots of the plant and pulling it down into its burrow. It also practices coprophagy, eating some of its own fecal pellets: it takes the pellets with its teeth directly from its anus, manipulates them with its fore-feet, and examines them carefully. It then consumes some and rejects others; however, the basis for its choice is unclear. [3]
Little is known about the reproductive behavior of this species but it appears to breed at any time of year. Litters of from one to five young have been recorded and there are believed to be up to two litters in the year. [3]
The Texas pocket gopher has a wide range and is common in at least part of that range, with a patchy distribution attributable to its requirement for loose, sandy soils in which to burrow. The IUCN lists its conservation status as being of "least concern" because, although the population trend is unknown, it is unlikely to be declining at such a rate as to warrant listing it in a more threatened category. [1]
Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 species are all endemic to North and Central America. They are commonly known for their extensive tunneling activities and their ability to destroy farms and gardens.
The smooth-toothed pocket gophers, genus Thomomys, are so called because they are among the only pocket gophers without grooves on their incisors. They are also called the western pocket gophers because they are distributed in western North America. They are considered distinct enough from other pocket gophers to be recognized as a separate subfamily or tribe.
Botta's pocket gopher is a pocket gopher native to western North America. It is also known in some areas as valley pocket gopher, particularly in California. Both the specific and common names of this species honor Paul-Émile Botta, a naturalist and archaeologist who collected mammals in California in 1827 and 1828.
The yellow-faced pocket gopher is a species of pocket gopher that is native to shortgrass prairies in the south-western United States and northern Mexico. It is the species that lives north of the Southern Coahuila Filter-Barrier (SCFB). Among the different species, the yellow-faced pocket gopher has a small to medium-sized skull. The fossil of this genus was recorded from the pre-Pleistocene Benson Beds of Arizona.
The southeastern pocket gopher is a species of pocket gopher that is native to the southeastern United States. It occurs in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, where it is the only pocket gopher.
The hispid pocket mouse is a large pocket mouse native to the Great Plains region of North America. It is a member of the genus Chaetodipus.
The Gulf Coast kangaroo rat is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae found in Mexico and the state of Texas in the United States. Its appearance and ecology are very similar to those of its putative sister species, Ord's kangaroo rat.
The desert pocket gopher is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is found in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico and in Texas and New Mexico in the United States.
The plains pocket gopher is one of 35 species of pocket gophers, so named in reference to their externally located, fur-lined cheek pouches. They are burrowing animals, found in grasslands and agricultural land across the Great Plains of North America, from Manitoba to Texas. Pocket gophers are the most highly fossorial rodents found in North America.
The central Texas pocket gopher or Llano pocket gopher is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is endemic to central Texas in the United States.
The tropical pocket gopher is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitat is hot deserts. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Merriam's pocket mouse is a species of rodent in the family Heteromyidae. It is found in northeast Mexico and New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas in the United States. Its habitat is shortgrass prairie, desert areas with scrub and arid shrubland. The species is named to honor Clinton Hart Merriam, a biologist who first described several other members of the genus Perognathus, and first elucidated the principle of a "life zone" as a means of characterizing ecological areas with similar plant and animal communities.
The camas pocket gopher, also known as the camas rat or Willamette Valley gopher, is a rodent, the largest member in the genus Thomomys, of the family Geomyidae. First described in 1829, it is endemic to the Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon in the United States. The herbivorous gopher forages for vegetable and plant matter, which it collects in large, fur-lined, external cheek pouches. Surplus food is hoarded in an extensive system of tunnels. The dull-brown-to-lead-gray coat changes color and texture over the year. The mammal's characteristically large, protuberant incisors are well adapted for use in tunnel construction, particularly in the hard clay soils of the Willamette Valley. The gophers make chattering sounds with their teeth; males and females make purring sounds when they are together, and the young make twittering sounds. Born toothless, blind and hairless, the young grow rapidly before being weaned at about six weeks of age.
The Idaho pocket gopher is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is rather small, with a lightly built skull. Its fur color varies through the body and between individuals. Found in the western United States, it inhabits savannas, shrubland, and grasslands. Individuals live alone in burrows, staying active year-round. Many aspects of its behavior and biology are not well understood. The species is classified as being of least-concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
The mountain pocket gopher is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is endemic to California and Nevada. The Sierra Nevada are part of its range.
The southern pocket gopher is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is found in Mexico and the United States, usually in high altitude grassland and shrubland. It feeds on plant material and has an extensive burrow above which is a large heap of earth on the surface of the ground.
The Michoacan pocket gopher is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is monotypic within the genus Zygogeomys. It is endemic to Mexico where its natural habitat is temperate, high-altitude forests. Its numbers are declining and it is listed by the IUCN as "endangered".
Attwater's pocket gopher is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is endemic to the Texas Coastal Bend in the southcentral United States.
Baird's pocket gopher or the Louisiana pocket gopher is a species of pocket gopher that is native to the southern United States. In total, there are three almost identical species of eastern pocket gopher; Geomys attwateri, G. bursarius, and G. breviceps. G. breviceps is larger in size, G. attwateri is medium-sized and G. bursarius is a bit smaller. Other than by size variation they are not identifiable by external features. Baird's pocket gophers are small rodents with most of their weight on the top half of their bodies.
Knox Jones's pocket gopher is a species of pocket gopher found in Texas and New Mexico. This species is named for Dr. J. Knox Jones Jr. (1929–1992), a prolific mammalogist at Texas Tech University.
