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HOME --> CLASS MAMMALIA
--> ORDER RODENTIA
--> SUBORDER CASTORIMORPHA
--> FAMILY Geomyidae
GENUS Geomys
| Author: | Rafinesque, 1817. | | Citation: | Am. Mon. Mag., 2(1): 45. | | Type Species: | Geomys pinetis Rafinesque, 1817. | | Comments: | Revised by Merriam (1895a). Species boundaries in this genus, as in other pocket gophers, are difficult to define. Complex relationships have been described for several diagnosable geographic units based on a variety of contact zone analyses that have employed morphological, karyological, allozyme, and/or mitochondrial and nuclear DNA biochemical analyses. These have indicated varying degrees of hybridization between geographically differentiated forms, and authors have varied in their recognition of these entities at the specific or subspecific levels. Hall (1981) recognized five species (arenarius, bursarius, personatus, pinetis, and tropicalis). While this set of taxa was regarded as an incomplete recognition of likely species in the genus, Patton (1993) followed Hall, waiting until workers of the genus reached consensus. This has now been achieved, with the nine species listed below generally recognized (see Elrod et al., 2000; Jolley et al., 2000). Baker and Williams (1974) and Hall (1981) provide keys to some species of Geomys, and Davis and Schmidly (1994) reviewed and mapped the species that occur in Texas. Phylogenetic relationships among species have been examined by comparative karyology (Smolen and Bickham, 1994, 1995), mitochondrial DNA sequences (Jolley et al., 2000), and morphometrics (Mauk et al., 1999). Qumsiyeh et al. (1988a) summarized karyotypic diversity in the genus. |
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