RODENTIA: SACCOMYIM:. 69 



i. Geomyinae comprise those which have the body 

 thick-set and clumsy, skull massive, incisors very large 

 and thick, limbs very short, fore claws five in number 

 and enormously developed. They are burrowing and 

 nocturnal in their habits. The Genera Geomys and Tho- 

 momys comprise the Pouched Gophers of North America, 

 of which there are more than a dozen species. 



The Pouched Gopher, Pock- 

 et Gopher, or Pouched Rat, 

 G. bttrsarius, Rich., of the 

 Northwestern States, is eight 

 to ten inches long to the tail, 

 which is one to two inch- 

 es ; the color reddish brown Pouched Gopher, 

 above, paler beneath, with a 



plumbeous tinge along the vertebral region. Its cheek- 

 pouches are very large, extending as far back as the shoul- 

 ders, and lined with short hair ; and, as in other mem- 

 bers of this family, are used mainly or wholly to convey 

 food into the burrows, to be stored up or eaten at leisure. 



The Salamander, G. pinetis, Raf, of Florida to Ala- 

 bama, is a gopher readily distinguished by the single 

 deep groove of the upper incisors, dividing the surface 

 into two unequal portions. 



The Pecos Gopher, G. Clarkii, Baird, is found in Texas. 



The Chestnut-faced Gopher, G. castanops, Lee., is found 

 in the Upper Arkansas region. 



The California Gopher, Thomomys bulbivorus, Baird, is 

 about the size of G. bursarius, cheek-pouches completely 

 furred inside and white to their very margin, which is 

 dark brown. The color above is reddish-chestnut-brown, 

 finely lined by dusky tips to the hairs ; beneath paler ; 

 the chin dusky, with the extremity white. 



The Broad-headed Gopher, T. laticeps, Baird, and the 

 Oregon Gopher, T. Douglassii, Giebel, are other species 

 respectively from California and Oregon. 



