Oriental Basin Pocket Gopher
Cratogeomys fulvescens Merriam, 1895
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.

Oriental Basin Pocket Gopher (Cratogeomys fulvescens)
Juan Rafael Rodríguez Razgado · CC BY 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Oriental Basin pocket gopher (Cratogeomys fulvescens) is a species of pocket gopher which is endemic to Mexico. It was first described in 1895 by Clinton Hart Merriam. It was considered to be a subspecies of Merriam's pocket gopher (Cratogeomys merriami) in the late 20th and early 21st century but has been reinstated as its own species. The IUCN Red List has evaluated it to be of least concern.
Wikipedia contributors, Oriental Basin pocket gopher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:48:52.298932+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Cratogeomys fulvescens Merriam, 1895
- Name authority
- Merriam, 1895
- Common name
- Oriental Basin Pocket Gopher
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Rodentia
- Family
- Geomyidae
- Genus
- Cratogeomys
- 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
- genusCratogeomys Merriam, 1895
- speciesCratogeomys fulvescens Merriam, 1895
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Cratogeomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Goldman's Pocket GopherCratogeomys goldmani Merriam, 1895 | GeomyidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Merriam's Pocket GopherCratogeomys merriami (Thomas, 1893) | 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 |
|---|---|
| Cratogeomys merriami fulvescens Merriam, 1895 Merriam, 1895 | synonym |
| Cratogeomys fulvescens subluteus Nelson & Goldman, 1934 Nelson & Goldman, 1934 | 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.
- 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:Z9MG. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.