Subspeciation in Pocket Gophers of Kansas, [KU. Vol. 1 No. 11] — John Shaqi
Subspeciation in Pocket Gophers of Kansas, [KU. Vol. 1 No. 11]Hall, E. Raymond (Eugene Raymond)
Science
Subspeciation in Pocket Gophers of Kansas, [KU. Vol. 1 No. 11]
Hall, E. Raymond (Eugene Raymond)
Mammals -- Kansas; Pocket gophers
For comparison with _G. l. major_, see account of that subspecies.
_Remarks._--Judging from the known specimens of this subspecies, it has
the smallest geographic range of any of the subspecies in Kansas, but
additional collecting in Hodgeman County and counties to the north and
west of it may extend the known range in those directions; collecting in
Comanche County and in adjoining parts of Oklahoma may extend the known
range to the southward.
The anterodorsal inclination of the occiput in males is the one cranial
character in which _industrius_ differs from all of the subspecies with
adjoining geographic ranges. The existence of this unique (among
adjoining subspecies) cranial character is the principal reason for
according subspecific status to this animal. Although it has other
characters which are fairly uniform over a considerable geographic area,
these other characters, namely, Cinnamon Brown color of the upper parts
and medium size of the body, after all, are conditions intermediate
between those in _jugossicularis_ to the west and those in the darker
and larger animals assigned to _major_ to the eastward. Considering the
intermediate geographic position of _industrius_, the color and size are
approximately what a person would predict by study of only the animals
to the west and those to the east. Therefore, the color and size
probably are indicative of intergradation between _jugossicularis_ and
_major_. Still, there is the anterodorsally inclined occiput in
males--a character of a unique sort--and this influences us to give
subspecific status to this animal with full recognition of the fact that
it is a "weak" subspecies as compared with any one of the adjoining
subspecies.
Hooper (1940:2) in naming as new _Geomys lutescens jugossicularis_
referred to his new subspecies a skin-only from Meade County State Park.
Our more abundant material from there shows the cranial conformation to
be that of _industrius_ to which we accordingly assign the specimens.
However, with only a skin available, we, too, would have used the name
_jugossicularis_ because the color is paler than in other specimens of
_industrius_ and this paleness indicates intergradation between the two
named subspecies. Specimens from Pratt County are slightly darker than
_industrius_ thereby indicating intergradation between _industrius_ and
_major_.
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