Pocket Gopher - Classification

Classification

There has been much debate among taxonomists about which races of pocket gopher should be recognised as full species, and the following list cannot be regarded as definitive.

• Family Geomyidae
  • Genus Cratogeomys; some authors treat this genus as a subgenus of Pappogeomys.
    • Yellow-faced pocket gopher (Cratogeomys castanops)
    • Oriental Basin pocket gopher (C. fulvescens)
    • Smoky pocket gopher (C. fumosus)
    • Llano pocket gopher (C. gymnurus)
    • Merriam's pocket gopher (C. merriami)
  • Genus Geomys - eastern pocket gophers; principally found in the south-western United States, east of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
    • Geomys arenarius; two subspecies, the desert and White Sands pocket gophers
    • Attwater's pocket gopher (G. attwateri)
    • Plains pocket gopher (G. bursarius); two subspecies
    • Knox Jones's pocket gopher (G. knoxjonesi)
    • Geomys personatus; 5 subspecies including the Texas, Davis, maritime and Carrizo Springs pocket gophers
    • Geomys pinetis; 4 subspecies, the southeastern, Cumberland Island, Sherman's and Goff's pocket gophers
    • Geomys texensis; 2 subspecies, including the llano pocket gopher
  • Genus Orthogeomys - giant pocket gophers or taltuzas; found in Mexico, Central America and Colombia.
    • Chiriqui pocket gopher (Orthogeomys cavator)
    • Cherrie's pocket gopher (O. cherriei)
    • Oaxacan pocket gopher (O. cuniculus)
    • Darien pocket gopher (O. dariensis)
    • Giant pocket gopher (O. grandis)
    • Variable pocket gopher (O. heterodus)
    • Hispid pocket gopher (O. hispidus)
    • Big pocket gopher (O. lanius)
    • Nicaraguan pocket gopher (O. matagalpae)
    • Thaeler's pocket gopher (O. thaeleri)
    • Underwood's pocket gopher (O. underwoodi)
  • Genus Pappogeomys; found in Mexico.
    • Alcorn's pocket gopher (Pappogeomys alcorni)
    • Buller's pocket gopher (P. bulleri)
  • Genus Thomomys - western pocket gophers; widely distributed in North America, extending into the northwestern US, Canada and the southeastern US.
    • Thomomys bottae; many subspecies, including Botta's, Fish Spring, Bonneville, Clear Lake, San Antonio, Pistol River, Mount Ellen, Guadalupe, Limpia, Mearns', Stansbury Island, Antelope Island, Cebolleta, Salinas, Skull Valley, Swasey Springs, Harquahala and Limpia Greek pocket gophers.
    • Camas pocket gopher (T. bulbivorus)
    • Wyoming pocket gopher (T. clusius)
    • Idaho pocket gopher (T. idahoensis)
    • Mazama pocket gopher (T. mazama); several subspecies including the western, Gold Beach, Olympic, and Tacoma pocket gophers.
    • Mountain pocket gopher (T. monticola)
    • Northern pocket gopher (T. talpoides); very widely distributed; several subspecies including the Cheyenne northern pocket gopher
    • Townsend's pocket gopher (T. townsendii)
    • Southern pocket gopher (T. umbrinus)
  • Genus Zygogeomys
    • Michoacan pocket gopher or tuza (Zygogeomys trichopus)

Some sources also list a genus Hypogeomys, with one species, but this genus name is normally used for the Malagasy giant rat, which belongs to the family Nesomyidae.