GEO.MYID.E 



139 



Thomomys bottae Edoux and Gervais. 



CALIFORNIA POCKET-GOPHER. 



Above sepia mixed with black; sides paler; below slaty tip- 

 ped with cinnamon or ochraceous buflf; mouth and nose black- 

 ish except around the incisors where it is white; lining of pockets 

 often white, but their edges blackish; feet dull white; tail dusk}^ 

 above basally, the remainder whitish. Young; paler and tinged 

 with fulvous. Skull massive, angular : rostrum short and nar- 



California Pocket Gopher. One-third life size 



row; nasals short; incisors projecting 

 forward, their front surfaces paler 

 than usual in this genus; zygomata 

 broad, widest posteriorly; interparie- 

 tel small; triangular, narrowed and 

 nearly overgrown by the temporal 

 ridges of old age: occiput truncated 

 posteriorly. 



Length about 240 mm. (9.50 inches) ; tail vertebrae 75 

 ( 3) ; hind foot 32 ( i .25 ) . 



Type localit}-, near Montere\-, California. 



Abundant in the coast region of central California. 



The various species of Pocket-Gophers found in California 

 (except in the deserts) are so much alike externally and in hab- 

 its that the following account of their habits will apply to all. 



Pocket-Gophers are thoroughly distributed throughout the 



