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 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Geomyidae |
| Genus: | Geomys |
| Species: | G. lutescens
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| Binomial name | |
| Geomys lutescens Merriam, 1890
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| Synonyms | |
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Taxonomy
editAuthors 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]
References
edit- ^ a b Chambers, Ryan R.; Sudman, Philip D.; Bradley, Robert D. (2 June 2009). "A Phylogenetic Assessment of Pocket Gophers (Geomys): Evidence from Nuclear and Mitochondrial Genes". Journal of Mammalogy. 90 (3): 537–547. doi:10.1644/08-MAMM-A-180R1.1.
- ^ Merriam, C. Hart (8 October 1890). "Description of a new pocket gopher of the genus Geomys, from western Nebraska" (PDF). North American Fauna. 4: 51. doi:10.3996/nafa.4.0010. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Wilson; Reeder. "Mammal Species of The World Third Edition". Wilson & Reeder's Mammal Species of the World Third Edition. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
- ^ Sudman, Jerry R.; Wickliffe, Jeffrey K.; Horner, Peggy; Smolen, Michael J.; Bickham, John W.; Bradley, Robert D. (24 August 2006). "Molecular Systematics of Pocket Gophers of the Genus Geomys". Journal of Mammalogy. 87 (4): 668–676. doi:10.1644/05-MAMM-A-349R2.1.
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