Geomys lutescens
Species of rodent
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Geomys lutescens, also known as the Sand Hills pocket gopher, is a species of pocket gopher native to the western United States (Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, and Nebraska).[1] It is a fossorial rodent that inhabits the Mississippi basin. The common name is derived from the type locality of Sand Hills.[2]
| Sand Hills pocket gopher | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Geomyidae |
| Genus: | Geomys |
| Species: | G. lutescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Geomys lutescens Merriam, 1890 | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Taxonomy
Authors have debated for decades whether this is a distinct species or a subspecies of the plains pocket gopher.[3] Recent genetic evidence and the lack of gene flow from other gopher populations has supported this being a distinct species and a sister species to Hall's pocket gopher.[4]
The subspecies G. l. jugossicularis was recently split from the Sand Hills pocket gopher as its own distinct species. The other subspecies, G. l. halli, was later found to be a subspecies of Hall's pocket gopher, leaving this species with no subspecies.[1]
