Southeastern pocket gopher
| Southeastern pocket gopher | |
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| Scientific classification | |
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| Species: | G. pinetis
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| Binomial name | |
| Geomys pinetis Rafinesque, 1817
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G. p. austrinus | |
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 pocket gopher is rather smaller than the plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius), with a total length of 260 mm (10.2 in) including a tail of about 86 mm (3.4 in). Males are larger than females and average 176 g (6.2 oz) in weight while the females average 136 g (4.8 oz). The dorsal fur is cinnamon brown with the underparts rather paler and tinged with buff or reddish-yellow. The feet and tail are white or pale buff. As with other members of this family, the external cheek pouches can be turned inside-out for grooming purposes. It is well adapted for living underground with large, protruding incisor teeth, used for tearing at roots, and powerful claws on the forefeet for digging.[2]
Distribution and habitat
The southeastern pocket gopher is restricted to the southeastern part of the United States, where it occurs in Alabama, Georgia and Florida. It occupies several different dry, sandy habitats; it occurs in sand-hill country with longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) and turkey oak (Quercus laevis), and it also occurs in slightly moister hammocks (low mounds) among the sand-hills with Quercus virginiana and other hardwood trees. Away from the sand dunes, it occurs in longleaf pine woodland and scrubby sand pine (Pinus clausa) habitats. Its presence in any area is obvious because of the numerous piles of sandy soil it pushes to the surface.[2]
References
- ^ Template:IUCN2008
- ^ a b Whitaker, John O.; Hamilton, William John (1998). Mammals of the Eastern United States. Cornell University Press. pp. 259–263. ISBN 0-8014-3475-0.
Further reading
- Ecological Engineers: Southeastern Pocket Gophers are one of Nature's Architects - University of Florida fact sheet
- J. L. Patton (2005). "Geomys pinetis". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 859–870. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.