The lineage of the Thomomyini is essentially rectilinear and without the major branching seen in the tribe Geomyini. The one genus, _Thomomys_, appears first in the Upper Pliocene (early Blancan time), and the specializations characterizing the lineage had already developed by that time. Evidently, the early stages of divergence from the ancestral stock resulted in the development of rootless, ever-growing, more hypsodont cheek teeth, simplification of M3, and enlargement of the masseteric ridge on the mandible. The enamel investment on the sides of the molariform teeth is interrupted owing to intrusion of tracts of dentine on the sides of each column. Even so, complete anterior and posterior plates are retained on all of the cheek teeth (Fig. 5, K and L) and there is no trend toward additional loss of enamel as in the Geomyini. The enamel on the sides of the column has little functional value, and its elimination probably reduces friction during the anteroposterior movements of the lower jaw, thereby increasing the efficiency of the cutting blades on the anterior and posterior wall of the tooth. The simplification of M3 was achieved by union of the two columns of the primitive pattern into a single column and obliteration of both the labial and lingual re-entrant folds in the first stages of wear. The adult tooth (see Fig. 5L) is without trace of the bilophate pattern and is not elongated; therefore, its structure is essentially the same as that of the first and second upper molars. In the Thomomyini, the two lophs of the unworn molars unite entirely across the width of their surfaces with the first traces of wear (see Fig. 5, I and J), owing to the shallow and uniform depth of the transverse valley. In the molars, the final pattern is acquired, therefore, before the deciduous premolar has been replaced by the permanent tooth. A relatively shallow re-entrant inflection between the ends of the parameres sometimes is retained, although it also will disappear with slight additional wear. Therefore, both lophs tend to unite completely with the first stages of wear in the Thomomyini, thus omitting both U and H patterns from the sequence of wear. This is the highest degree of specialization attained in the Geomyidae in regard to the patterns of wear, since a sequence of bilophodont patterns appear in both the Dikkomyini and Geomyini before the monoprismatic pattern is developed. [Illustration: FIG. 5. Drawings of molariform dentitions representative of the tribes Geomyini and Thomomyini depicting patterns of wear on the occlusal surface. A-D represent, in ontogenetic sequence from left to right, upper tooth-rows of the tribe Geomyini. E-H represent, in the same sequence of stages, lower tooth-rows of the tribe Geomyini. I-L represents both upper and lower tooth-rows of both pre-final and final stages of wear in the tribe Thomomyini. All × 5.