TJIE EASTKRN POCKET GOPJIKH. 



525 



Diagnostic characters. — The ^cneiMC characters (listiii«^uish i\ut 

 species from all other iiiainnials found in the State. 



Description. — The color is described by IMerriani as "dark liver 

 brown or chestnut above and Ix'lovv, somewhat paler on the belly; 

 fore feet w^hite ; hind feet soiled white; hairs of tail usually 

 brown on basal part and white on terminal i)art." The form is 

 indicated by the generic description. 



Measurements. — Dr. Merriam gives the foUow^ing measurements 

 as the average of 68 specimens: Total length, 274 mm. (11 in.) ; 

 tail. 76 mm. (8 in.) ; hind foot, 33 mm. (1 5/16 in.). No measure- 

 ments of Indiana specimens are at hand. 



The skull and teeth are sufficiently characterized under the 

 description of the genus. 



Range. — From the Canadian border in North Dakota to south- 

 eastern Missouri and east to northwestern Indiana. Indiana marks 

 the eastern limit of its range, and it is not generally distributed in 

 this State. I have never collected it in Indiana nor do I know 

 of any specimens from this State in collections, but there is no 

 doubt of its occurrence in Lake and Newton counties. The only 

 definite records I have are Shelby, Lake County, and Lake Village, 

 Newton County. 



Habits. — The gophers are burrowing animals and spend all of 

 their time underground excepting in late summer and autumn, 

 when they are said to sometimes wander about in search of new 

 locations. The mole thrusts its pointed nose into the earth and 

 heaves upward, at the same time thrusting his broad front feet 

 forw^ard and pushing to one side. In this way he lifts the dirt 

 upward all along his path, and is saved the trouble of carrying 

 it. But the gopher laboriously breaks the dirt loose with his pow- 

 erful incisors and claws and, when he has accumulated a heap, 

 places himself behind it, making a scoop of his forelimbs, and 

 pushes it along the already completed part of his tunnel to an 

 opening and there heaves it up to the surface. The work is very 

 rapid, however. These gopher hills sometimes contain a bushel or 

 more of earth and they are the only indications we have of the 

 presence of the animals; they leave no mark along their pathway 

 as the moles do. 



In his work of excavating, the gopher moves back and forth 

 in his tunnel like a shuttle engine, without turning around. The 

 tail serves as an organ of touch in the backward progression, being 

 rather short and fleshy, and is carried straight behind the animal. 



In some text-books of zoology we find it stated that the pouches 



