Geomys bursarius Shaw 1800

13. Plains Pocket Gopher Geomys bursarius French: Gaufre brun / German: Flachland-Taschenratte / Spanish: Tuza de llanura Other common names: Mississippi Valley Pocket Gopher Taxonomy. Mus bursarius Shaw, 1800, “taken from Indian hunters in the upper parts of Interior Canada.” Restricted by C. H. Merriam in 1895 to “somewhere in Upper Mississippi [River] Valley” and M. H. Swenk in 1939 to “Elk River, Sherburne County, Minnesota,” USA. Eight subspecies are recognized. Subspecies and Distribution. G.b.bursariusShaw,1800—extremeSManitoba,Canada,andmostofMinnesotaandadjacentpartsofNorthDakota,SouthDakota,andNWWisconsin,USA. G.b.illinoensisKomarek&Spencer,1931—CIllinoisandadjacentNWIndiana,USA. G.b.industriusVilla&Hall,1947—SWKansas,USA. G.b.majorDavis,1940—SCKansas,COklahoma,andNTexasintoECNewMexico,USA. G.b.majusculusSwenk,1939—IowaandadjacentpartsofENebraska,NEKansas,andNMissouri,USA. G.b.missouriensisMcLaughlin,1958—ECMissouri,USA. G.b.ozarkensisElrodetal.,2000—NCArkansas,USA. G. b. wisconsinensis Jackson, 1957 — W Wisconsin, USA. Descriptive notes. Head-body 135-235 mm, tail 60-120 mm; weight 120-250 g. Male Plains Pocket Gophers are usually larger than females. They show clinal variation in body size, with larger individuals in the north and smaller individuals in the south. The Plains Pocket Gopher has a fusiform body shape typical of all pocket gophers, and it possesses fur-lined cheek pouches that open external to the mouth. Color of dorsal pelage varies widely, from light buff, through various shades of brown,to black. Some individuals have small patches of white fur, and albino individuals have been reported. Anterior surface of each upper incisor has a large medial groove flanked by a smaller groove located along the inner margin of the tooth. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 70 or 72 and FN = 68-74. Habitat. Wide variety of open habitats ranging from tall-grass prairies to native and non-native grasslands and urban park settings. Populations of Plains Pocket Gopher also are known from oak-hickory savannas, mesquite prairies, and patches of deciduous forest surrounded by prairie habitats. Habitat preferences appear to be based more on soil type than vegetation, with individuals avoiding soils with less than 40% sand content or more than 30% clay and silt content. Food and Feeding. The Plains Pocket Gopheris a feeding generalist, and its diet consists of roots, tubers, stems, and leaves of most plants available within the vicinity of its burrow system. Stomachs of pocket gophers collected in Minnesota contained 94% grasses and 6% forbs, dominated by true grasses such as bromus (Bromus sp.), crested wheatgrass (Agropyron sp.), oats (Avenasp.), bluegrass (Poa sp.), and fleabane (Lrigeron sp., Asteraceae). In Illinois, the Plains Pocket Gopher commonly feeds on sweet clover (Melilotusofficinalis, Fabaceae), alfalfa (Medicago sativa, Fabaceae), bluegrass (Poa sp.), and dandelions (Taraxacum sp., Asteraceae). Food stores recovered from one burrow system in eastern Kansas, contained only tubers of sunflowers (Helianthus tuberosus, Asteraceae), and food stores in a nearby burrow system were composed entirely of exotic Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense, Poaceae). The Plains Pocket Gopher readily invades cultivated fields and is considered an agricultural pest whereverit occurs in contact with humans. As in all other pocket gophers, the burrow system is a series of shallow feeding tunnels radiating spoke-like from a deeper, central network that contains one or more nest chambers and several smaller chambersfor storage of food or fecal pellets. Breeding. Timing and duration of breeding of the Plains Pocket Gopher vary across its distribution. Pregnant females have been captured almost year-round (January—November) in Texas, but further north (Minnesota), pregnant females have been captured only in April-May. Gestation is ¢.30 days. Females have one, occasionally two, litters per year; each litter contains 1-6 young. Young weigh c.5 g at birth and are born naked with eyes, ears, and cheek pouches closed. Eyes open at c.3 weeks, and they are weaned 4-5 weeks after birth. Females are reproductively mature at c¢.12 months of age. Activity patterns. The Plains Pocket Gopher can be active at any hour of the day but generally shows a bimodal pattern of activity, with peak periods of activity at night (22:00-06:00 h) and early afternoon (13:00-17:00 h). It does not hibernate and is active year-round. Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Plains Pocket Gopheris solitary and aggressively territorial. Because it rarely leaves its burrow system, its home range is defined by size and extent of its burrow system. Home ranges vary from c.34 m? in Kansas to 292 m? in Arkansas. Density varies widely and is related to habitat quality. In Texas, densities range from 1-3 ind/ha in pastureland to almost 19 ind/ha in hayfields. Average densities in Arkansas are 4-60 ind/ha depending on quality of the habitat. In most populations studied, females were ¢.65% of adults. Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Last. Bibliography. Chambers et al. (2009), Connior (2011), Genoways et al. (2008), Jolley et al. (2000), Linzey & NatureServe (Hammerson) (20080), Merriam (1895), Patton (2005b), Swenk (1939), Tucker & Schmidly (1981), Zimmerman (1999a).Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Thomas E. Lacher, Jr & Russell A. Mittermeier, 2016, Geomyidae, pp. 234-269 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 6 Lagomorphs and Rodents I, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on page 241, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.660380