Megascapheus bulbivorus
| Camas Pocket Gopher
(Megascapheus bulbivorus) | |
|---|---|
| Range | |
 | |
| Taxonomic classification | |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Suborder: | Supramyomorpha |
| Infraorder: | Castorimorphi |
| Superfamily: | Geomyoidea |
| Family: | Geomyidae |
| Subfamily: | Geomyinae |
| Tribe: | Thomomyini |
| Genus: | Megascapheus |
| Binomial details | |
| Megascapheus bulbivorus (J. Richardson, 1829) | |
| Other resources | |
| Full taxonomic details at MDD | |
The Camas Pocket Gopher (Megascapheus bulbivorus) is a large pocket gopher restricted to the Willamette Valley, Oregon, and to drainages of tributaries to the Willamette River system (Verts and Carraway, 1987).
Description
From Verts and Carraway (1987): "The dorsum is sooty brown and the ears and nose blackish; the venter is lead colored except for an irregular-shaped white patch on the throat (Bailey, 1915). The winter pelage is long and furry; the summer pelage short and coarse (Bailey, 1915). Incisors are highly procumbent (Hall, 1981). The presence of grooves on the exoccipital and pterygoids concave on their inner surfaces separate T. bulbivarus from all other members of the genus (Elliot, 1903; Thaeler, 1980).
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon | Bailey (1915) from Verts and Carraway (1987) | males: 300 (n=5); females: 271 (n=4) | males: 90 (n=5); females: 81 (n=4) | males: 42 (n=5); females: 39 (n=4) |
Skull
Taxonomic notes
Elevation of subgenera within genus Thomomys Wied-Neuwied, 1839
Genetic analyses (CytB and COI) by Álvarez-Castañeda and Segura-Trujillo (2025) found that the two subgenera within the genus Thomomys Wied-Neuwied, 1839 — Megascapheus and Thomomys — are genetically distinct. Morphological and genetic data support considering these differences sufficient at the genus level. Both subgenera Megascapheus and Thomomys were elevated to the taxonomic rank of genus by Álvarez-Castañeda and Segura-Trujillo (2025).
Similar species
References
Álvarez-Castañeda ST, Segura-Trujillo CA. 2025. Genus-level review of pocket gophers in the family Geomyidae. Therya 16(1): 41-75.
Richardson J. 1829. Fauna Boreali-Americana. Part first, containing the quadrupeds. John Murray, London, 300 pp.
Verts BJ, Carraway LN. 1987. Thomomys bulbivorus. Mammalian Species (273):1-4.