Two new pocket gophers of the genus Thomomys

Vol. XXIII, ^pp. 79-80

May

4, 1910

PROCEEDINGS

OFTHE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

X' TWO NEW POCKET GOPHERS OF THE GENUS

THOMOMYS.

BY VERNON BAILEY.

A

^critical

study

^ofthe

genus Thowonnis shows two

well

marked forms

hitherto

unnamed. One

of these,

from

the

yellow pine

plateaus ^of

northern New _Mexico,

^islarge

and dark;

the other,

from

the

bottoms

of

hot

desert l)asins of Avestern

Nevada,

^is large

and

pale.

Both belong

^{to the aureus}

group ^but mark

^its

opposite

extremes.

Thomomys ^apache

^{sp. nov.}

Type from

Lake La

Jara (7,.3UU feetaltitude),

on

tlie Jicarilla

Apache

Indian Reservation,

New

^Mexico.

Nnmber

135,366, c? adult, U. S.

National

Museum,

^Biological SurveyCollection. CollectedSeptember 19, 1904,

by James H.

^Gaut. Original

number

3289.

Generalcharacters.

—

Size large, hindfoot33-34; ^colorsdark; hind ^feet

and

_{tip of}tailconspicuously white.

Color.

— _{Upper and}

lower parts nearlyuniform dull,sooty gray,slightly

washed

with dull _Ijuffy ocliraceous; backwith an ill-defined stripe of blackish; basal ^{half U)} three-quarters ^{of tail} brownisli or _l)lackish, the restabruptly white; hind feetwhite; lips usually

and

chin_rarely white.

Skull.

—

Heavy, angular

and

ridged, similarⁱⁿform

and

general char- acters tothatof aureus; ^{bullae full}

and

_{rounded; pterygoids U-shaped;}

nasals normally withslightlyemarginate, doul:)lyrounded _posteriortips;

iipper incisorswhite tipped

and

decurvedat right angles^toaxis of skull.

Measurements.

—

_Type, total length, 250; ^tail vertebrfe, 85; hind _foot, 34. Adult femaletopotype, 229; 74; 33. Skull_{of type,}basal length, 41;

nasals, 14; zygomatic breadth, 28; mastoid breadth, 23; alveolar length ofupper molar^{series, 8.5.}

Thomomys ^canus

^{sp. nov.}

Type from

Deep

Hole, ^at north

end

of

Smoke

Creek Desert, Nevada.

No. 78,365, c? adult, U. S. National ^Museum,Biological Survey ^Collec-

IS—Pi;oc. Bkii.. Scic.Wash.,V"I..XXIII,1910. (T'.D

80

_Bailey

—

_Tiro Neic Pocket

Gophers

^{of the}

Genus Thomomys.

tion. Collected

May

14, 1896, by Clark ^{P. Streator. Original}

number

oil)!).

Generalcharacters.

—

Size of aiireusora little larger, hind foot 30-33;

colorsashy or pale huffy gray^; lower parts white.

Color.

— _Upper

_partspalehuffy gray, with duskyear-patch

and brown-

ish nose; lowerparts, feet

and

tail wiiitish.

Skull.

—

Likethatof aureus, but _palate flatinstead of arched between themolarseries; interparietallarger

and more

quadrate; buUfe sliglitly larger; anterior points^{offrontals lessacute.}

Measurements.

—

_Type, total length, 242; ^tail vertebra^,(54; hind _foot, 33. Adult female from _{type locality,215;} <J4; 30. Skull of type, basal lengtli, 41; nasals, 15; zygomatic })readth, 28; mastoid breadth, 23;

alveolar length^ofupper molarseries, ^!).

Remarks.

—

Incolorcanus_closely resembles the gray phase ^{of its} near neighbor, nevadensis, ^{l)utincranial} charactersitshowscloserelationship withaureus.