Species: Thomomys talpoides
Northern Pocket Gopher
Species
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Encyclopedia of Puget Sound
Classification
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Craniata
Class
Mammalia
Order
Rodentia
Family
Geomyidae
Genus
Thomomys
NatureServe
Classification
Other Global Common Names
gaufre gris
Informal Taxonomy
Animals, Vertebrates - Mammals - Rodents
Formal Taxonomy
Animalia - Craniata - Mammalia - Rodentia - Geomyidae - Thomomys - (Thaeler 1985; Patton, in Wilson and Reeder 1993, 2005).
Ecology and Life History
Migration
true - false - false
Non-migrant
true
Locally Migrant
false
Food Comments
Roots of forbs, cacti, and grasses, stems, bulbs, tubers and leaves. Food is often carried in cheek pouches and stored in underground chambers or in or under snow. May feed in vegetable gardens, grainfields, and orchards.
Reproduction Comments
Females are monoestrous. Mating usually occurs from March to mid-June, depending on weather and latitude. Gestation lasts about 19-20 days. Litter size is 4-7. Young disperse from natal burrow at about 2 months of age (Jones et al. 1983).
Ecology Comments
Primarily solitary. Home range may occupy 150-200 sq yards. Population density varies widely with quality of habitat; from < 1/acre to > 50/acre (Banfield 1974, Jones et al. 1983). Pocket gophers are ecologically important as prey items and in influencing soils, microtopography, habitat heterogeneity, diversity of plant species, and primary productivity (Huntly and Inouye 1988).
Length
23
Weight
130
Conservation Status
NatureServe Global Status Rank
G5
Global Status Last Reviewed
1996-11-07
Global Status Last Changed
1996-11-07
Other Status
LC - Least concern
Distribution
Conservation Status Map
<img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.AB=S5&CA.BC=S5&CA.MB=S5&CA.SK=S5&US.AZ=S4&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S5&US.ID=S5&US.MN=S3&US.MT=S5&US.NN=S3&US.NE=S1&US.NV=S5&US.NM=S4&US.ND=SNR&US.OR=S4&US.SD=S5&US.UT=S4&US.WA=S5&US.WY=S5" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
Global Range
Central plains and western mountain regions in Canada and the U.S. Southern British Columbia to central Alberta and southwestern Manitoba, south to central South Dakota and northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, northern Nevada, and northeastern California (Patton, in Wilson and Reeder 1993).