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Pocket gophers weigh around 200 g (1 ⁄ 2 lb), and are about 15–20 cm (6–8 in) in body length, with a tail 2.5–5 cm (1–2 in) long. A few species reach weights approaching 1 kg (2.2 lb). Within any particular gopher species, the males are larger than the females, and can be nearly double their weight. [7]
The incisors of gophers in the genus Thomomys have characteristically smooth anterior surfaces, while those of Geomys have two deep grooves per tooth and those of Cratogeomys have a single groove. [5] The camas pocket gopher is a member of the subgenus Megascapheus, established in 1903, at that time for the camas pocket gopher alone.
Richardson's ground squirrel (Urocitellus richardsonii), also known as the dakrat or flickertail, is a North American ground squirrel in the genus Urocitellus.Like a number of other ground squirrels, they are sometimes called prairie dogs or gophers, though the latter name belongs more strictly to the pocket gophers of family Geomyidae, and the former to members of the genus Cynomys.
The thirteen-lined ground squirrels have solitary habits, shown by agonistic behaviors to squirrels invading their own areas, which they've evolved, requiring less energy and the risk of getting injuired. Tail-flicking is also evolved from their solitary habits, which allows them not to violate other squirrel individuals' space. [5]
Like other pocket gophers, they have a large head, a short, muscular neck, small eyes and ears, and short legs. The forefeet are large with powerful digging claws, while the hindfeet are stout, with flat soles. There is a fur-lined cheek pouch on either side of the mouth, from which the name "pocket gopher" derives. Females have eight teats. [3]
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).
Biologists estimate that one pocket gopher can move the equivalent of a ton of soil per year, which helped bring beneficial bacteria and fungi that survived the eruption closer to the surface.
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.