NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Plains Pocket Gopher
Geomys bursarius (Shaw, 1800)
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
The plains pocket gopher (Geomys bursarius) is one of 35 species of pocket gophers, so named in reference to their externally located, fur-lined cheek pouches. They are burrowing animals, found in grasslands and agricultural land across the Great Plains of North America, from Manitoba to Texas. Pocket gophers are the most highly fossorial rodents found in North America.
Wikipedia contributors, Plains pocket gopher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:43:35.544578+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Geomys bursarius (Shaw, 1800)
- Name authority
- (Shaw, 1800)
- Common name
- Plains 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 bursarius (Shaw, 1800)
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 |
| Desert Pocket GopherGeomys arenarius 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 |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Diplostoma fusca Rafinesque, 1817 Rafinesque, 1817 | synonym |
| Mus bursarius Shaw, 1800 Shaw, 1800 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180216 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:3FQBV. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.