Geomys attwateri
| Attwater's Pocket Gopher
(Geomys attwateri) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Supramyomorpha |
| Infraorder: | Castorimorphi |
| Superfamily: | Geomyoidea |
| Family: | Geomyidae |
| Subfamily: | Geomyinae |
| Tribe: | Geomyini |
| Genus: | Geomys |
| Subgenus: | Geomys (subgenus) |
| Binomial details | |
| Geomys attwateri C. H. Merriam, 1895 | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
The Attwater's Pocket Gopher (Geomys attwateri) is a pocket gopher found in the grasslands of southeast Texas. Friable soils are important as this species is fossorial and rarely leaves its network of underground burrows. It can be very difficult to distinguish from other pocket gophers.
Description
From Williams and Cameron (1991): "Geomys attwateri has a cylindrical body that is heaviest anteriorly, especially about the head. There is no indication of a neck. The thickest portion of the body is at the back part of the head from which the body tapers gradually to the tail, widening across the thighs. The body is covered by short, fine hair, which is pale brown to black and usually paler ventrally. Fur-lined, external cheek pouches are used for transporting food. Eyes are small, ears are rudimentary, and tail is shortened, thickened, and naked, except for a few hairs at the base. Front feet have long, curved claws used for digging, whereas claws on the hind feet are smaller (Schmidly, 1983)."
External measurements
Length measurements are in millimeters (mm) and weight measurements are in grams (g), unless stated otherwise. If available, the sample size (n=) is provided. If a range is not provided and n= is not given, then the listed measurement represents an average.
| Part of range | Reference | Total length | Tail length | Hindfoot length | Ear length | Mass |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Schmidly & Bradley (2016) | 216 | 62 | 26 |
Skull
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Holotype: USNM 51382. Geomys attwateri attwateri. Adult male. Rockport, Aransas County, Texas. Collected 18 November 1892. Dorsal view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 51382. Geomys attwateri attwateri. Adult male. Rockport, Aransas County, Texas. Collected 18 November 1892. Ventral view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 51382. Geomys attwateri attwateri. Adult male. Rockport, Aransas County, Texas. Collected 18 November 1892. Lateral view of the skull. -
Holotype: USNM 51382. Geomys attwateri attwateri. Adult male. Rockport, Aransas County, Texas. Collected 18 November 1892. Dorsal view of the mandible. -
Holotype: USNM 51382. Geomys attwateri attwateri. Adult male. Rockport, Aransas County, Texas. Collected 18 November 1892. Lateral view of the left mandible.
Similar species
From Williams and Cameron (1991): "The three species of pocket gophers currently recognized in eastern Texas, G. attwateri, [Geomys brazensis], and G. bursarius, are cryptic and difficult to distinguish on the basis of external characteristics. G. attwateri is intermediate in size between the other two species. Compared with G. bursarius, the dorsal exposure of the jugal bone on the dorsal surface of the zygomatic arch is shorter than the width of the rostrum in G. attwateri and [Geomys brazensis] (Schmidly, 1983)."
References
Merriam CH. 1895-01-31. Revision of the pocket gophers, family Geomyidæ, exclusive of the species of Thomomys. North American Fauna 8:1-262.
Schmidly DJ. 1983. Texas mammals east of the Balcones fault zone. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, 400 pp.
Williams LR, Cameron GN. 1991. Geomys attwateri. Mammalian Species (382): 1-5.