Geomys breviceps Baird 1855
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
Geomys
Geomys breviceps

description: 23.
Baird's Pocket Gopher
Geomys breviceps
French: Gaufre de Baird / German: Baird-Taschenratte / Spanish: Tuza de Baird
Other common names: Louisiana Pocket Gopher, Mer Rouge Pocket Gopher (breviceps)
Taxonomy. Geomys breviceps Baird, 1855,
Morehouse Parish, La.,” USA
According to J. W. Demastes in 1994, the subspecies sagittalis may be a distinct species based on mtDNA evidence. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
G.b.brevicepsBaird,1855—NCLouisiana(MerRouge,MorehouseParish),USA.
G. b. sagittalis Merriam, 1895 — SE Oklahoma, SW Arkansas, E Texas (E of the Brazos River), and W Louisiana, USA.
Descriptive notes. Head—body 130-160 mm, tail 50-70 mm; weight 78-150 g. Baird's Pocket Gopher is small for the genus, and males are equal to or only slightly larger than females. It has a fusiform body shape typical of all pocket gophers, and it possesses fur-lined cheek pouches that open external to the mouth. Most individuals are pale brown to black dorsally and lighter ventrally. 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 = 74 and FN = 72.
Habitat. Only in areas with friable soils, typically plant communities dominated by grasses. Baird's Pocket Gopheris usually found in soils ranging from sandy loam to silty-clay loam. In Louisiana, the subspecies breviceps is found only in deep,rich alluvial soils, whereas the subspecies sagittalis is found in open prairie grasslands and clearings in pine-oak woodlands.
Food and Feeding. Baird's 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. Food stores recovered from one burrow system contained parts of at least 15 species of nearby plants. Baird’s Pocket Gopherreadily invades cultivated fields and is considered an agricultural pest wherever it 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 chambers for storage of food or fecal pellets. Tunnels average c.6 cm in diameter and are usually found 10-68 cm below the surface. Total length of tunnels in a single burrow system is 55-180 m. Unlike other pocket gophers, individuals of the subspecies breviceps construct large nest mounds that can rise 30-61 cm above the soil’s surface. Normally, the nest chamber is located 30 cm, or so, below the surface, but when the ground is temporally flooded, the nest chamberis located above the soil’s surface near the top of the nest mound.
Breeding. Baird's Pocket Gopher is reproductively active in February-August, with peak activity in June—July. Evidence suggests that females have 1-2 litters/year, each litter containing 1-4 young (average 2-7 in one study). Gestation is 4-5 weeks, and young are weaned and leave their mother’s burrow 5-6 weeks after birth. Reproductive maturity in femalesis reached ¢.90 days following birth, and females born early in a breeding season often breed before the season ends.
Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but Baird's 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. Baird's Pocket Gopheris solitary and aggressively territorial. Because it rarely leavesits burrow system,its home range is defined by size and extent of its burrow system. Density of Baird’s Pocket Gopher in a Texas prairie habitat was 0-55 ind/ha, which was low for pocket gophers.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red Last.
Bibliography. Demastes (1994), Linzey & NatureServe (Hammerson) (2008n), Patton (2005b), Sulentich et al. (1991), Tucker & Schmidly (1981), Williams, L.R. (1999b).
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 pages 244-245, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6603807