34.

Buller’s Pocket Gopher

Pappogeomys bulleri

French: Gaufre de Buller / German: Jalisco-Taschenratte / Spanish: Tuza de Buller

Other common names: Alcorn’s Pocket Gopher (alcorni)

Taxonomy. Geomys bulleri Thomas, 1892,

“Talpa, Mascota, Jalisco [Mexico], 8500 feet.”

Molecular studies suggest that the genus Pappogeomys 1s sister to the genus Cratogeomys. The subspecies alcorni was previously recognized at the species level but was regarded as a subspecies of bulleri by J. W. Demastes and colleagues in 2003. Five subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

P.b.buller:Thomas,1892—CJalisco,Mexico.

P.b.albinasusMerriam,1895—SENayarittoNCJalisco,Mexico.

P.b.alcorniRussell,1957—ECJalisco(SierradelTigreSofLagunadeChapala),Mexico.

P.b.burt:Goldman,1939—PacificcoastofSJaliscoandColima,Mexico.

P. b. nayaritensis Goldman, 1939 — C Nayarit, Mexico.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 125-180 mm, tail 60-100 mm; weight 100-250 g. Male Buller’s Pocket Gophers are usually larger than females. Dorsal pelage pale gray to dark gray, sometimes black. Ventral pelage is lighter in color. Buller’s Pocket Gopher has a fusiform body shape typical of all pocket gophers, and it possesses fur-lined cheek pouches that open external to the mouth. Anterior surface of each upper incisor has a single medial groove slightly displaced to the inner side of the tooth. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 56 and FN = 106.

Habitat. Hot, humid coastal lowlands, tropical deciduous and semideciduous forests at middle elevations, and pine-oak forests at elevations up to ¢.3000 m. Unlike most pocket gophers, Buller’s Pocket Gopher only occasionally invades cultivated fields.

Food and Feeding. There is no specific information available for this species, but Buller’s Pocket Gopher probably feeds on roots, tubers, stems, and leaves of most plants available within the vicinity of its burrow system. As in all other pocket gophers, the burrow system is a series of shallow feeding tunnels radiating spoke-like from a deeper, central network that contains one or more nest chambers and several smaller chambers for storage of food or fecal pellets.

Breeding. Buller’s Pocket Gopher appears to breed throughout the year. Litters have 1-8 young, with an average of two young perlitter.

Activity patterns. There is no specific information available for this species, but Buller’s Pocket Gopher is probably active at any hour of the day. It does not hibernate and is active year-round.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. There is no specific information available for this species, but Buller’s Pocket Gopheris likely solitary and aggressively territorial. Individuals probably leave their burrow systems only rarely, meaning that their home range is defined by size and extent of their burrow system.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The subspecies alcorni is classified as Critically Endangered (as Pappogeomys alcorni). Buller’s Pocket Gopher has received special protection under the Mexican Endangered Species Act (as P. alcorni) since 2010. A recent survey in the vicinity of the type locality of alcorni found it to be relatively abundant within this limited area.

Bibliography. Castro-Arellano & Vazquez (2008c), Ceballos (2014), Demastes et al. (2003), Hafner et al. (2009), Patton (2005b), SEMARNAT (2010), Solar-Frost et al. (2003).