NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Desert Pocket Gopher
Geomys arenarius Merriam, 1895
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Desert Pocket Gopher (Geomys arenarius)
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Open encyclopedia reference
The desert pocket gopher (Geomys arenarius) is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is found in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico and in Texas and New Mexico in the United States.
Wikipedia contributors, Desert pocket gopher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:37:18.982877+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Geomys arenarius Merriam, 1895
- Name authority
- Merriam, 1895
- Common name
- Desert Pocket Gopher
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Geomyidae
- Genus
- Geomys
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
- suborderCastorimorpha A. E. Wood, 1955
- familyGeomyidae Bonaparte, 1845
- subfamilyGeomyinae Bonaparte, 1845
- tribeGeomyini Bonaparte, 1845
- genusGeomys Rafinesque, 1817
- speciesGeomys arenarius Merriam, 1895
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Geomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Hall's Pocket GopherGeomys jugossicularis Hooper, 1940 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Jones' pocket gopherGeomys knoxjonesi Baker & Genoways, 1975 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Texas Pocket GopherGeomys personatus True, 1889 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Strecker's Pocket GopherGeomys streckeri Davis, 1943 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Central Texas Pocket GopherGeomys texensis Merriam, 1895 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Attwater's Pocket GopherGeomys attwateri Merriam, 1895 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Baird's Pocket GopherGeomys breviceps Baird, 1855 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Plains Pocket GopherGeomys bursarius (Shaw, 1800) | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Sand Hills Pocket GopherGeomys lutescens Merriam, 1890 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| South-eastern Pocket GopherGeomys pinetis Rafinesque, 1817 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Tropical Pocket GopherGeomys tropicalis Goldman, 1915 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Geomys bursarius arenarius Merriam, 1895 Merriam, 1895 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Merriam, & Hart, C. (1895). Monographic revision of the pocket gophers Family Geomyidae (Exclusive of the species of Thomomys). North American Fauna, No. 8. Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3FQBR. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.