Merriam's pocket gopher (''Cratogeomys merriami'') is a species of

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 specie ...

in the family Geomyidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, where it is found in the area of the

Valley of Mexico The Valley of Mexico (; ), sometimes also called Basin of Mexico, is a highlands plateau in central Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations including Teotihuacan, ...

and the Valley of Toluca at elevations from 1800 to 4000 m. Its favored habitats are the Zacatonal grassland and temperate pine-oak woodlands, as well as farmland and rangeland. Its

karyotype A karyotype is the general appearance of the complete set of chromosomes in the cells of a species or in an individual organism, mainly including their sizes, numbers, and shapes. Karyotyping is the process by which a karyotype is discerned by de ...

has 2n = 36 and FN = 68. Until 2005, what are now considered the separate species '' C. fulvescens'' and '' C. perotensis'' were included within this taxon. They were split off due to clear molecular, chromosomal and morphological differences. All three species are part of the '' C. castanops''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. The species is named after American mammalogist

Clinton Hart Merriam Clinton Hart Merriam (December 5, 1855 – March 19, 1942) was an American zoologist, mammalogist, ornithologist, entomologist, ecologist, ethnographer, geographer, natural history, naturalist and physician. He was commonly known as the "father o ...

. Although its distribution is patchy, it is not thought to be threatened.

References

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 ...

Endemic mammals of Mexico Fauna of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt Fauna of Central Mexico Natural history of the State of Mexico

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Geomyidae-stub