GENERAL HABITS. 



11 



sometimes be seen for an instant while the animal pushes a load of 

 earth from a freshly opened hole; and on rare oeeasions the whole 

 animal appears above ground but disappears again so quickly that the 

 eye hardly catches its form. Still more rarely one may be met with 

 following a road or path remote from its hole. 



As Pocket Gophers spend their lives underground, their whole organ- 

 ization is modified in accordance with the needs of a subterranean exist- 

 ence. The different kinds, though numerous, are very much alike exter- 

 nally. They are short-legged, thickset animals, without an appreciable 

 neck, without noticeable external ears, and with very small eyes. The 

 feet are largely developed for digging. The forepaws in particular are 

 very strong, are armed with long curved claws, 

 and the sides of the toes are lined with rows of 

 bristles that evidently serve in preventing the dirt 

 from passing between the fingers (fig. 3), thus 

 completing a more effective arrangement for keep- 

 ing the tunnels clean, and for pushing the earth 

 out of the openings in the burrows. The tail, 

 which is of moderate length, is thick, fleshy, and 

 usually devoid of hair, and is endowed with tactile 

 sensibility. 



The Pocket Gophers, in working their way 

 through the earth in the construction of their tun- 

 nels, use the powerful upper front teeth as a pick 

 to loosen the ground. At the same time the fore 

 feet are kept in active operation, both in digging 

 and in pressing the earth back under the body, 

 and the hind feet are used in moving it still far- 

 ther backward. When a sufficient quantity has 

 accumulated behind the animal, he immediately 

 turns in the burrow and by bringing the wrists 

 together under the chin, with the palms of the hands held vertically, 

 forces himself along by the hind feet, pushing the earth out in front. 

 When an opening in the tunnel is reached the earth is discharged 

 through it, forming a little hillock that resembles in a general way the 

 hills thrown up by moles. In many Gophers there is a naked callosity 

 or 'nasal pad ? over the anterior half of the nose, which must be of great 

 assistance in the construction of the tunnels. 



The substance of the following notes on the habits of a live Gopher 

 in captivity is from a technical paper recently published by Dr. C. Hart 

 Merriam :* 



A Pocket Gopher from Vernon, Texas, ran backward as rapidly and 

 easily as forward. This method of progression was particularly notice- 

 able when the animal could follow a runway or other accustomed route. 

 W T hen carrying food to one of his storehouses he rarely turned around, 



FIG. 3. — Left forefoot of 

 Geomys personatas, show- 

 ing the rows of bristles 

 which form brushes on 

 the sides of the toes. 



* North American Fauna, No. 8, January 31, 1895. 



