Merriam's Pocket Gopher

Open encyclopedia reference

Merriam's pocket gopher (Cratogeomys merriami) is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it is found in the area of the Valley of Mexico and the Valley of Toluca at elevations from 1800 to 4000 m. Its favored habitats are the Zacatonal grassland and temperate pine-oak woodlands, as well as farmland and rangeland. Its karyotype has 2n = 36 and FN = 68.

Until 2005, what are now considered the separate species C. fulvescens and C. perotensis were included within this taxon. They were split off due to clear molecular, chromosomal and morphological differences. All three species are part of the C. castanops species group.

The species is named after American mammalogist Clinton Hart Merriam.

Although its distribution is patchy, it is not thought to be threatened.

Wikipedia contributors, Merriam's pocket gopher; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:11:24.539841+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Cratogeomys merriami (Thomas, 1893)

Name authority

(Thomas, 1893)

Common name

Merriam's 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.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
9. subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
10. infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
11. orderRodentia Bowdich, 1821
12. suborderCastorimorpha A. E. Wood, 1955
13. familyGeomyidae Bonaparte, 1845
14. subfamilyGeomyinae Bonaparte, 1845
15. tribeGeomyini Bonaparte, 1845
16. genusCratogeomys Merriam, 1895
17. speciesCratogeomys merriami (Thomas, 1893)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Cratogeomys. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 32 records assigned to Geomyidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

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.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=900162 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:Z9MM. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.