Knox Jones's pocket gopher (''Geomys knoxjonesi'') is a species of

pocket 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 ar ...

found in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. This species is named for Dr. J. Knox Jones Jr. (1929–1992), a prolific mammalogist at Texas Tech University. It is a relatively small gopher, with a total length of about , including an tail, and weighing from . Males are slightly larger than females. It has a typical gopher-like body, with large, clawed, forelimbs, small eyes and ears, and a fur-lined cheek pouches. The fur is buff-brown fur and fades to white on the belly and feet. It is visually indistinguishable from the plains pocket gopher, and was formerly considered to be a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

of that animal, before being raised to full species status in 1989 on the basis of genetic differences. Knox Jones's pocket gopher is found in the central western regions of Texas, roughly between the counties of Ward,

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

, and Cochran, and in southeastern New Mexico as far as Chaves County. Within this region, it inhabits areas with deep sandy soils, rather than the harder loamy soils favoured by the plains pocket gopher, and feeds on the roots and stems of plants such as yucca,

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...

s, and various grasses. The gopher is territorial and solitary, except during the October to April breeding season. Gestation lasts about 23 days, and the young are weaned after three to four weeks.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1761986 Geomys Pocket gophers Mammals described in 1975