Cherrie's pocket gopher (''Heterogeomys cherriei'') is a species of
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...
in the family
Geomyidae. It is found in
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
, and
Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...
.
It is threatened by
habitat loss
Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
.
Some authors classify it in the genus ''
Orthogeomys'', but recent research has allowed this and its related species to be classified in the genus ''
Heterogeomys
''Heterogeomys'' is a genus of rodent in the family Geomyidae, found in Mexico, Central America and Colombia. ''Heterogeomys'' are a small genus of rodents commonly known as pocket gophers, though the term applies to all genera within the famil ...
''.
Taxonomy
Traditionally, the species is subdivided into three subspecies:
* ''Orthogeomys cherriei carlosensis''
(Goodwin, 1934)
* ''Orthogeomys cherriei cherriei''
(J. A. Allen, 1893)
* ''Orthogeomys cherriei costaricensis''
(Merriam, 1895)
Recent study has allowed the identification of a fourth subspecies, previously considered as a separate species:
* ''Heterogeomys cherriei matagalpae''
J. A. Allen, 1910, geographically isolated subspecies found in Honduras and Nicaragua.
References
Heterogeomys
Gopher, Cherrie's pocket
Mammals described in 1893
Taxa named by Joel Asaph Allen
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN
{{Geomyidae-stub