Cratogeomys fulvescens Merriam 1895
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Geomyidae
Cratogeomys
Cratogeomys fulvescens

description: 37.
Oriental Basin Pocket Gopher
Cratogeomys fulvescens
French: Gaufre fauve / German: Puebla-Taschenratte / Spanish: Tuza de la Cuenca Oriental
Other common names: Fulvous Pocket Gopher
Taxonomy. Cratogeomys fulvescens Merriam, 1895,
“Chalchicomula [= Ciudad Serdan], State of Puebla, Mexico.”
Cratogeomys was regarded as a subgenus of Pappogeomys by R. J. Russell in 1968, but it was returned to generic status by R. L. Honeycutt and S. L. Willams in 1982. C. fulvescens was recognized as a subspecies of C. merriami by Russell in 1968 and J. L. Patton in 2005, but it was resurrected to species status by M. S. Hafner and colleagues in 2005. Molecular studies show C. fulvescens to be closely related to C. perotensis and C. merriami, and these three species together with C. goldmani and C. castanops comprise the C. castanops species group. Monotypic.
Distribution. Oriental Basin of E Puebla, E Tlaxcala, and extreme W Veracruz, Mexico.
Descriptive notes. Head—body 205-285 mm (males) and 180-215 mm (females), tail 85-105 mm (males) and 95-110 mm (females); weight 420-550 g (males) and 250-500 g (females). Male Oriental Basin Pocket Gophers are often larger than females, but sexual dimorphism is not as pronounced as it is in other geomyid species. Body size is small for the genus. The Oriental Basin 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. Dorsal color is grizzled yellowish brown, with strong mixture of black-tipped hairs imparting a salt-and-pepper appearance. Ventral coloris similar to dorsal color but paler. Anterior surface of each upper incisor has a single medial groove slightly displaced to the inner side of the tooth. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 40 and FN = 76.
Habitat. Dry, sparsely vegetated, desert habitat, dominated by alkaline-tolerant plants. Soils are usually sandy and deep. Plants often associated with the Oriental Basin Pocket Gopherinclude desert saltgrass (Dustichlis spicata, Poaceae), Puebla saltbush (Atriplex pueblensis, Amaranthaceae), gypsum grama (Bouteloua breviseta, Poaceae), prickly pear (Opuntia sp., Cactaceae), agave (Agave sp., Asparagaceae), and various cacti (Mammallaria sp., Cactaceae). The Oriental Basin Pocket Gopher is known from elevations of 2300-2700 m.
Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but all pocket gophers that have been studied eat predominately underground roots and tubers and a limited amount of surface vegetation. The Oriental Basin Pocket Gopher readily invades cultivated fields and is considered an agricultural pest wherever it comes 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 chambers for storage of food or fecal pellets.
Breeding. Pregnant female Oriental Basin Pocket Gophers have been captured in December—February.
Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Oriental Basin Pocket Gopher is probably active at any hour of the day, with periods of peak activity around dawn and dusk. It does not hibernate and is active year-round.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no specific information available for this species, but the Oriental Basin Pocket Gopher is probably solitary and aggressively territorial. Individuals probably leave their burrow systems only rarely, meaning that their home range is defined by size and extent of their burrow system.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.
Bibliography. Alvarez-Castafeda, Castro-Arellano, Lacher & Vazquez (2008c), Ceballos (2014), Hafner et al. (2005), Honeycutt & Williams (1982), Merriam (1895), Patton (2005b), Russell (1968b).
description: 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 251, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6603807