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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).
Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. [2] The roughly 41 species [ 3 ] are all endemic to North and Central America. [ 4 ] They are commonly known for their extensive tunneling activities and their ability to destroy farms and gardens.
There are a number of subspecies of the southern pocket gopher and they vary in details of their size, the proportions of their skull and their coloring. Adults are commonly between 200 and 250 mm (8 and 10 in) long, with females being generally smaller than males. The upperparts are cinnamon-brown fading to yellowish-buff on the flanks.
A long-term controlled study of tunnel excavation by plains pocket gophers found that the rate of tunnel construction ranges from a high of 2,059 cm/week of new tunnels to a low of none over several weeks during the summer. About 30 to 50 m (98 to 164 ft) of tunnels were open at any one time.
Pocket Gophers range in size from about 170 mm (for example, H. cherriei and H. underwoodi) to around 280 mm (such as H. heterodus and H. cavator). [9] Tails can range in length from 80 to 160 mm depending on the species.
Northern pocket gophers rarely appear above ground; when they do, they rarely venture more than 2.5 feet (0.76 m) from a burrow entrance. Underground, however, they often have tunnels that extend hundreds of feet where they live, store food, and give birth to their young.
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They will live and roam between 0.008 and 0.012 hectares, with tunnel systems anywhere from 200-2,000 square feet. [3] These gophers prefer there to be vegetation above their tunnels and cause heaps of dirt to rise where they surface. [4] In summer, the gophers tunnel where the groundwater supply is about 4.3 feet below the surface.