The Wyoming pocket gopher (''Thomomys clusius'') is a species of

gopher Pocket gophers, commonly referred to simply as gophers, are burrowing rodents of the family Geomyidae. The roughly 41 speciesSearch results for "Geomyidae" on thASM Mammal Diversity Database are all endemic to North and Central America. They are ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Between 1915 and 1979, it was generally considered to be a subspecies of the northern pocket gopher.

Description

The Wyoming pocket gopher is the smallest species of the genus '' Thomomys'', with a total length of about , including a tail about long. Adults weigh from . The fur is a pale yellowish-grey across the upper parts of the body and most of the head, and white on the underparts, feet, and tail. The snout is near black in color. It can be distinguished from the closely related northern pocket gopher by the lack of dark patches on its ears, as well as by its smaller size. Like other gophers, it has strong front limbs with digging claws, and small ears and eyes.Wyoming Pocket Gopher - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Profile
/ref> The fur-lined cheek pouches are relatively large, reaching about back from the snout.

Distribution and habitat

The Wyoming pocket gopher is found only in a relatively limited area of southern

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

, in eastern Sweetwater County and southwestern Carbon County. It inhabits relatively flat, well-drained areas, often in association with greasewood (''

Sarcobatus ''Sarcobatus'' is a North American genus of two species of flowering plants, formerly considered to be a single species. Common names for ''S. vermiculatus'' include greasewood, seepwood, and saltbush. Traditionally, ''Sarcobatus'' has been ...

'' spp.) and Gardner's saltbush ('' Atriplex gardneri'').

Biology and behavior

In most respects, the Wyoming pocket gopher is thought to be similar in habits and biology to the northern pocket gopher, of which it was formerly considered a subspecies. It is thought to be solitary, living in burrows that are significantly narrower than those of the northern species. It was initially separated from the northern pocket gopher on the basis that it possesses a different karyotype of 2n=46, rather than 2n=48. There is no evidence that the two species are able to interbreed.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1768052 Wyoming pocket Endemic fauna of the United States Mammals of the United States Wyoming pocket gopher Rodents of North America Wyoming pocket gopher Wyoming pocket gopher Mammals described in 1875 Least concern biota of the United States Taxonomy articles created by Polbot