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The thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus), also known as the striped gopher, leopard ground squirrel, and squinny (formerly known as the leopard-spermophile in the age of Audubon), is a species of hibernating ground squirrel that is widely distributed over grasslands and prairies of North America.
Gophers have small eyes and a short, hairy tail, which they use to feel around tunnels when they walk backwards. Pocket gophers have often been found to carry external parasites including, most commonly, lice, but also ticks, fleas, and mites. [8] Common predators of the gopher include weasels, snakes, and hawks. [10]
The southern pocket gopher (Thomomys umbrinus) is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. [2] It is found in Mexico and the United States , usually in high altitude grassland and shrubland. It feeds on plant material and has an extensive burrow above which is a large heap of earth on the surface of the ground.
Botta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae) is a pocket gopher native to western North America. It is also known in some areas as valley pocket gopher , particularly in California. Both the specific and common names of this species honor Paul-Émile Botta , a naturalist and archaeologist who collected mammals in California in 1827 and 1828.
The Texas pocket gopher is found in southern Texas as far north as Val Verde County and San Patricio County, [3] and the state of Tamaulipas, the most north-easterly part of Mexico. [1] Its range is patchy and disjointed, similarly to other Geomys species. It is common in the sand drifts on Mustang and Padre islands in the Gulf of Mexico. [3]
Like other pocket gophers, they have a large head, a short, muscular neck, small eyes and ears, and short legs. The forefeet are large with powerful digging claws, while the hindfeet are stout, with flat soles. There is a fur-lined cheek pouch on either side of the mouth, from which the name "pocket gopher" derives. Females have eight teats. [3]
The reproductive activity of yellow-faced pocket gophers start in November and increases to a peak in March and/or April [8] During mating and copulation, the males emits low guttural squeaks throughout exploratory activities, then the male bites the female when body contact is made. [5]
The gophers spend 72% of their time in their nests, coming above ground to search for food or mates, and for young animals to establish new burrows. Territorial and aggressive, especially in male-to-male interaction, these rodents appear to use their greatly increased sensitivity to soil vibration to maintain their solitary lifestyle.