Cryptic Coloration of the Plains Pocket Gopher, Geomys Bursarius

Color reflected from the pelage of plains pocket gophers (Geomys bursarius) and from corresponding soil samples was measured spectrophotometrically. No significant differences in pelage color between sexes or among age classes of pocket gophers were found, but the color reflected from new and old pelages of pocket gophers differed significantly. There was a high degree of correlation and a strong linear relationship between colors of pelages and colors of soils. This indicated that the plains pocket gopher, although fossorial, has adapted to resemble the surrounding substrate in which it burrows. This adaptation probably was the result of selection by aboveground predators