A New Pocket Gopher (Genus Thomomys), from Eastern Colorado

Excerpt......The pocket gophers of the species Thomomys talpoides in east-central Colorado have long been referred to the subspecies Thomomys talpoides clusius Coues with type locality at Bridger Pass, Wyoming. Recently, two subspecies, T. t. attenua ... Read more

Excerpt......The pocket gophers of the species Thomomys talpoides in east-central Colorado have long been referred to the subspecies Thomomys talpoides clusius Coues with type locality at Bridger Pass, Wyoming. Recently, two subspecies, T. t. attenuatus and T. t. rostralis (see Hall and Montague, Univ. Kansas Publ., Mus. Nat. Hist., 5(3):25-32, February 28, 1951) were named from along the Wyoming-Colorado boundary with the result that the populations of Thomomys talpoides in east-central Colorado are separated from T. t. clusius of Wyoming by the geographic ranges now ascribed to the recently named T. t. attenuatus and T. t. rostralis. The subspecific identity of the animals from east-central Colorado thus is left in doubt. Examination of pertinent materials was made in the expectation that the names Thomomys talpoides macrotis F. W. Miller (Proc. Colorado Mus. Nat. Hist., 9:41, December 14, 1930) and Thomomys talpoides cheyennensis Swenk (Missouri Valley Fauna, 4:5, March 1, 1941) would apply to the specimens, the identity of which is in doubt. This examination discloses instead, as set forth in more detail below, that neither of the two names mentioned immediately above does apply; the Coloradan specimens in question are referable to an heretofore unrecognized subspecies which may be named and described as follows: Thomomys talpoides retrorsus new subspecies Thomomys clusius, Warren, The Mammals of Colorado, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, p. 80, 1910; Cary, N. Amer. Fauna, 33:132, August 17, 1911. Thomomys talpoides clusius, Bailey, N. Amer. Fauna, 39:100, November 15, 1915; F. W. Miller, Proc. Colorado Mus. Nat. Hist., 9:41, December 14, 1930; Warren, The Mammals of Colorado, Univ. Oklahoma Press, Norman, p. 162, 1942. Less