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
_Description._--Animals with total length averaging no more
than 272 mm.; length of vertebrae of tail averaging no more
than 92; hind foot averaging no more than 35. Color: In autumn
pelage, upper parts Light Ochraceous-Buff becoming Buckthorn
Brown in middorsal region and there forming a faint
longitudinal band; sides Pale Yellow Orange. In summer,
Buckthorn Brown on upper parts with a dorsal band, especially
distinct on specimens from Ellis and Trego counties; specimens
from farther west lack the distinct dorsal band. Underparts
Gray Drab and sometimes whitish, usually whitish in young
specimens; basal color of pelage Deep Neutral Gray; fore and
hind feet whitish. Skull: Zygomatic arch broadly and squarely
spreading anteriorly; temporal impressions uniting to form a
low sagittal crest in adult males, but in adult females and in
young males the impressions usually remain apart; shape of
interparietal varying from subquadrate in young specimens to
subtriangular or triangular in adults; in some young specimens
the interparietal is reduced to a minute, ovoid bone.
_Comparisons._--See comparisons in the accounts of other subspecies
occurring in Kansas.
_Remarks._--In his monographic revision of the pocket gophers, Merriam
(1895:129) recorded 3 "typical or nearly typical" specimens from Trego
County, and 18 "non typical" specimens as follows: Garden Plain,
Sedgwick County, 4; Belle Plain, Sumner County, 5; Cairo, Pratt County,
6; Kiowa, Barber County, 2; and Ellis, Ellis County, 1. A detailed
discussion of Merriam's account of the distribution of _Geomys
lutescens_ in Kansas is given by Swenk (1940:11-12).
Judging by specimens in the University of Kansas Museum of Natural
History, _G. bursarius lutescens_ in Kansas is restricted to the
northwestern part of the state, reaching southward certainly to Scott
County and eastward certainly to Ellis County; precise limits of
distribution of this subspecies are unknown. Additional collecting is
necessary to determine where the range of _lutescens_ meets the ranges
of the other subspecies. The specimens studied are remarkably uniform.
One specimen obtained in October, in Trego County, is slightly lighter
colored than any other from Kansas. In other characteristics it agrees
with specimens from northwestern Kansas and from the type locality.
_Specimens examined._--Total number 32, as follows: _Cheyenne
County_: 23 mi. (by road) NW St. Francis, 3. _Rawlins County_:
2 mi. NE Ludell, 10. _Logan County_: 5 mi. W Elkader, 3; no
locality more precise than county, 1. _Trego County_: Wakeeney,
4; 12 mi. S Collyer, Perrington Ranch, 3; no locality more
precise than county, 5. _Scott County_: 4 mi. S Scott City, 2.
_Ellis County_: Hays State College Campus, Hays, 1.
=Geomys bursarius majusculus= Swenk
_Geomys bursarius majusculus_ Swenk, Missouri Valley Fauna,
1:6, December 5, 1939; Hibbard, Trans. Kansas Acad. Sci.,
47:74, 1944.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account