GEOMYIDJi; 



139 



Thomomys bottae Edoux and Gervais. 



CALIFORNIA POCKET-GOPHER. 



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

 ped with cinnamon or ochraceons buff; mouth aud nose black- 

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

 often white, but their edges blackish; feet dull white; tail dusky 

 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 fi-ont 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; 

 posteriorly. 



Length about 240 mm. (9.50 inches) 

 (3); hind foot 32 (1.25). 



Type locality, near Monterey, 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 



occiput truncated 

 tail vertebras 75 



