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Gopher
Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database 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 name "pocket gopher" on its own may refer to any of a number of genera within the family Geomyidae. These are the "true" gophers, but several ground squirrels in the distantly related family Sciuridae are often called "gophers", as well. The origin of the word "gopher" is uncertain; the French , meaning waffle, has been suggested, on account of the gopher tunnels resembling the honeycomb-like pattern of holes in a waffle; another suggestion is that the word is of Muskogean origin. Description Pocket gophers weigh around , and are about in body length, with a tail long. A few species reach weights approaching . Within any p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Botta's Pocket Gopher
Botta's pocket gopher (''Thomomys bottae'') 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. Description Botta's pocket gopher is a medium-sized gopher, with adults reaching a length of , including a tail of . The overall dental formula is . Males are larger, with a weight of , compared with in the females. Male pocket gophers are widely believed to continue growing throughout their life. However, size variation would indicate that some males are predisposed to be larger than others, and the largest male may not be the oldest. Coloration is highly variable, and has been used to help distinguish some of the many subspecies; it may also change over the course of a year as the animals molt. Both albino and melanism, melanistic individuals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heterogeomys
''Heterogeomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Geomyidae, found in Mexico, Central America and Colombia. ''Heterogeomys'' are a small genus of rodents commonly known as pocket gophers, though the term applies to all genera within the family Geomyidae. The name pocket gopher was earned for this family because of their fur lined cheek pouches that can be used for carrying food. These pouches can also be turned inside out. Species of ''Heterogeomys'' are regarded as pests, one of less than 5% of rodent species classified as pests, and the history of man's attempts to control their populations reaches back into Maya civilization, Mayan times. Despite some efforts to the contrary, populations of ''Heterogeomys'' seem to be on a general upwards trend. Furthermore, all of the species of ''Heterogeomys'' are considered to be of Least Concern in the World Status Key. Taxonomy In 1895, Clinton Hart Merriam, C. H Meriam described 3 genera of pocket gophers: ''Heterogeomys'', ''Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geomys
The genus ''Geomys'' contains 12 extant species of pocket gophersSearch results for "''Geomys''" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database often collectively referred to as the eastern pocket gophers. Like all pocket gophers, members of this genus are fossorial herbivores. Species Extant species include: * Desert pocket gopher (''Geomys arenarius'') * Attwater's pocket gopher (''G. attwateri'') * Baird's pocket gopher (''G. breviceps'') * Plains pocket gopher (''G. bursarius'') * Hall's pocket gopher (''G. jugossicularis'') * Knox Jones's pocket gopher (''G. knoxjonesi'') * Sand Hills pocket gopher (''G. lutescens'') * Texas pocket gopher (''G. personatus'') * Southeastern pocket gopher (''G. pinetis'') * Strecker's pocket gopher (''G. streckeri'') * Central Texas pocket gopher (''G. texensis'') * Tropical pocket gopher The tropical pocket gopher (''Geomys tropicalis'') is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is endemic to Mexico. Its natural habitat is hot dese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are native to all major land masses except for Antarctica, and several oceanic islands, though they have subsequently been introduced to most of these land masses by human activity. Rodents are extremely diverse in their ecology and lifestyles and can be found in almost every terrestrial habitat, including human-made environments. Species can be arboreal, fossorial (burrowing), saltatorial/ricochetal (leaping on their hind legs), or semiaquatic. However, all rodents share several morphological features, including having only a single upper and lower pair of ever-growing incisors. Well-known rodents include Mouse, mice, rats, squirrels, prairie dogs, porcupines, beavers, Cavia, guinea pigs, and hamsters. Once included wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zygogeomys
The Michoacan pocket gopher (''Zygogeomys trichopus'') 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". Description The Michoacan pocket gopher is a small animal with short, dense, black, lustrous fur and a hairless tail. The eyes are small and deep-set and there is a pad-like region of bare skin just behind the nostrils. It is docile when caught, making no attempt to bite as do other pocket gophers. Distribution and habitat The Michoacan pocket gopher is endemic to the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt mountain range in central southern Mexico, where it occurs in four discrete locations near west of Lake Pátzcuaro at altitudes over . The fossil record shows that members of the genus '' Zygogeomys'', including two other now extinct species, were widespread in the late Pliocene ep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orthogeomys
The giant pocket gopher (''Orthogeomys grandis''), also known as the Oaxacan pocket gopher, is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is found in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. It is the type species of the genus ''Orthogeomys''; some zoologists also include in this genus species that have recently been placed in ''Heterogeomys ''Heterogeomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Geomyidae, found in Mexico, Central America and Colombia. ''Heterogeomys'' are a small genus of rodents commonly known as pocket gophers, though the term applies to all genera within the famil ...''. It is long, and in weight. References Giant pocket gopher Rodents of Mexico Rodents of Central America Giant pocket gopher Giant pocket gopher Least concern biota of North America Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Geomyidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cratogeomys
''Cratogeomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It was previously considered a subgenus of ''Pappogeomys''. All species are distributed in Mexico and the Southwest United States, with some species being found in both countries. It contains the following seven species: * Yellow-faced pocket gopher (''Cratogeomys castanops'') * Oriental Basin pocket gopher (''Cratogeomys fulvescens'') * Smoky pocket gopher (''Cratogeomys fumosus'') * Goldman's pocket gopher (''Cratogeomys goldmani'') * Merriam's pocket gopher Merriam's pocket gopher (''Cratogeomys merriami'') is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is Endemism, endemic to Mexico, where it is found in the area of the Valley of Mexico and the Toluca Valley, Valley of Toluca at elevations from ... (''Cratogeomys merriami'') * Perote pocket gopher (''Cratogeomys perotensis'') * Volcan de Toluca pocket gopher (''Cratogeomys planiceps'') References Rodent genera Taxa named by Clinton Hart Mer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pappogeomys
Buller's pocket gopher (''Pappogeomys bulleri'') is a species of gopher that is endemic to Mexico. Taxonomy It is monotypic within the genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ... ''Pappogeomys''. It includes the Alcorn's pocket gopher (''P. b. alcorni'') as a subspecies. Previously, this subspecies was considered a separate species. Description ''Pappogeomys bulleri'' is endemic to west central Mexico.Russell, R.J. 1968. Revision of pocket gophers of the genus ''Pappogeomys''. University of Kansas Publications, Museum of Natural History 16: 581–776. The total body length for this species is typically under 270 mm, and its body mass is typically under 250 g. The fur of ''P. bulleri'' can vary from a light shade of gray, to a darker shade depending on its geogra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soil Biomantle
The soil biomantle can be described and defined in several ways. Most simply, the soil biomantle is the organic-rich bioturbated upper part of the soil, including the topsoil where most biota live, reproduce, die, and become assimilated. The biomantle is thus the upper zone of soil that is predominantly a product of organic activity and the area where bioturbation is a dominant process. Soil bioturbation consists predominantly of three subsets: ''faunalturbation'' (animal burrowings), ''floralturbation'' (root growth, tree-uprootings), and ''fungiturbation'' (mycelia growth). All three processes promote soil parent material destratification, mixing, and often particle size sorting, leading with other processes to the formation of soil and its horizons. While the general term bioturbation refers mainly to these three mixing processes, unless otherwise specified it is commonly used as a synonym to faunalturbation (animal burrowings). One- and two-layered biomantles, soil stonelayers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burrow
file:Chipmunk-burrow (exits).jpg, An eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of Animal locomotion, locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, and can be found in nearly every biome and among various biological interactions. Many animal species are known to form burrows. These species range from small amphipods, to very large vertebrate species such as the polar bear. Burrows can be constructed into a wide variety of substrates and can range in complexity from a simple tube a few centimeters long to a complex network of interconnecting tunnels and chambers hundreds or thousands of meters in total length; an example of the latter level of complexity, a well-developed burrow, would be a rabbit Warren (burrow), warren. Vertebrate burrows A large variety of vertebrates constru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Burrowing
An eastern chipmunk at the entrance of its burrow A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to construct a space suitable for habitation or temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. Burrows provide a form of shelter against predation and exposure to the elements, and can be found in nearly every biome and among various biological interactions. Many animal species are known to form burrows. These species range from small amphipods, to very large vertebrate species such as the polar bear. Burrows can be constructed into a wide variety of substrates and can range in complexity from a simple tube a few centimeters long to a complex network of interconnecting tunnels and chambers hundreds or thousands of meters in total length; an example of the latter level of complexity, a well-developed burrow, would be a rabbit warren. Vertebrate burrows A large variety of vertebrates construct or use burrows in many types of substrate; burrows can range ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
