The
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...
''Geomys'' contains 12
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
of
pocket gophers
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 ar ...
[Search results for "''Geomys''" on th]
ASM Mammal Diversity Database
often collectively referred to as the eastern pocket gophers. Like all pocket gophers, members of this genus are
fossorial
A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees.
Prehistoric e ...
herbivores
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...
.
Species
*''Geomys''
**
Desert pocket gopher
The desert pocket gopher (''Geomys arenarius'') 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.
Description
''Geomys arenarius'' is a medium si ...
(''Geomys arenarius'')
**
Attwater's pocket gopher
Attwater's pocket gopher (''Geomys attwateri'') is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country ...
(''G. attwateri'')
**
Baird's pocket gopher
Baird's pocket gopher or the Louisiana pocket gopher (''Geomys breviceps'')Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. "Geomys breviceps." North American Mammals. 2009. 7 May 2009/ref> is a species of pocket gopher that is native to the south ...
(''G. breviceps'')
**
Plains pocket gopher
The plains pocket gopher (''Geomys bursarius'') 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 ...
(''G. bursarius'')
** ''
Geomys jugossicularis''
**
Knox Jones's pocket gopher
Knox Jones's pocket gopher (''Geomys knoxjonesi'') 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.
It is a relatively s ...
(''G. knoxjonesi'')
** ''
Geomys lutescens
The genus ''Geomys'' contains 12 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 fossori ...
''
**
Texas pocket gopher
The Texas pocket gopher (''Geomys personatus'') is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is found in Tamaulipas in Mexico and in Texas in the United States.
Description
Males grow to a length of about including a tail of about . Fem ...
(''G. personatus'')
**
Southeastern pocket gopher
The southeastern pocket gopher (''Geomys pinetis'') 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.
Description
The southeastern poc ...
(''G. pinetis'')
** ''
Geomys streckeri
The genus ''Geomys'' contains 12 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 fossori ...
''
**
Central Texas pocket gopher
The central Texas pocket gopher or Llano pocket gopher (''Geomys texensis'') is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is endemic to central Texas in the United States.
Description
The central Texas pocket gopher is very similar in ap ...
(''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 deserts. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Description
The tropical pocket gopher is cinnamon ...
(''G. tropicalis'')
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1009351
Pocket gophers
Rodent genera
Taxa named by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque