Megascapheus atrovarius

(J. A. Allen, 1898)

Black-and-brown Pocket Gopher

Taxonomy

Subclass : Theria
Infraclass : Placentalia
Magnorder : Boreoeutheria
Superorder : Euarchontoglires
Order : Rodentia
Suborder : Supramyomorpha
Infraorder : Castorimorphi
Family : Geomyidae
Subfamily : Geomyinae
Tribe : Thomomyini
Genus : Megascapheus

Species status

Living
Found in the wild

Authority citation

Allen, J.A. 1898-04-12. Descriptions of new mammals from western Mexico and Lower California. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 10(8):143-158.

Authority publication link

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/26893754

Original name as described

Thomomys atrovarius

Type material

BMNH:Mamm:1898.3.2.102

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/211ed02a-cdc4-43e2-97e3-aaeaa37d1a24 https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/6e4ea79d-f29e-4767-aa26-be1f1565f638

Type locality

"Tatemales [near Rosario], State of Sinaloa, Mexico."

Biogeographic realm

Nearctic

Country distribution

Mexico

Taxonomy notes

split from T. umbrinus; moved from Thomomys to Megascapheus

Taxonomy notes citation

Hafner, M. S., Gates, A. R., Mathis, V. L., Demastes, J. W., & Hafner, D. J. (2011). Redescription of the pocket gopher Thomomys atrovarius from the Pacific coast of mainland Mexico. Journal of Mammalogy, 92(6), 1367-1382. · Álvarez-Castañeda, S. T., & Segura-Trujillo, C. A. (2025). Genus-level review of pocket gophers in the family Geomyidae. Therya, 16(1), 41-75.

IUCN Red List status

Not Evaluated

Species Permalink

https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1001877

Country distribution map

The map below provides a general overview. Most species inhabit only specific regions within countries. Hover over the highlighted regions to see the country name.

Names and synonyms

Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details. If the list is long, scroll down to see more.

Thomomys atrovarius

(J. A. Allen, 1898)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

atrovarius

Validity status

species

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

BMNH:Mamm:1898.3.2.102

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/211ed02a-cdc4-43e2-97e3-aaeaa37d1a24 https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/6e4ea79d-f29e-4767-aa26-be1f1565f638

Authority page

148

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/26893754

Authority publication

Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History

Name usages

  1. Álvarez-Castañeda (2010:679) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/6593)
  2. Wilson, Lacher & Mittermeier (2016:240) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/59599)
  3. Mammal Diversity Database (2018:ID #100000350) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67336)
  4. Mammal Diversity Database (2019:ID #100000350) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67337)
  5. Mammal Diversity Database (2024, https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1001877) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67250)

Thomomys sinaloae

(C. H. Merriam, 1901)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

sinaloae

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

USNM:MAMM:96745

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/35bc9ef1b-8ed3-4859-81c7-8c543356a4dd

Authority page

108

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2338992

Authority publication

Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington

Thomomys umbrinus eximius

(E. W. Nelson & E. A. Goldman, 1934)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

eximius

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

USNM:MAMM:96458

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3cb556794-d704-4656-a5f0-e4e8798a343e

Authority page

118

Authority publication

Journal of Mammalogy

Name usages

Patton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8529)

Thomomys umbrinus extimus

(E. W. Nelson & E. A. Goldman, 1934)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

extimus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

USNM:MAMM:88131

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/35fecbbef-c46e-46eb-9c44-53756923fca1

Authority page

119

Authority publication

Journal of Mammalogy

Name usages

Patton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8529)

Thomomys umbrinus musculus

(E. W. Nelson & E. A. Goldman, 1934)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

musculus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

USNM:MAMM:90818

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3b6e61aca-db5c-4f28-83fd-0960088531a5

Authority page

119

Authority publication

Journal of Mammalogy

Name usages

Patton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8529)

Thomomys simulus parviceps

(E. W. Nelson & E. A. Goldman, 1934)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

parviceps

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

USNM:MAMM:96743

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3fd724386-fe4a-4d57-aefd-fdbe1b083209

Authority page

121

Authority publication

Journal of Mammalogy

Thomomys simulus

(E. W. Nelson & E. A. Goldman, 1934)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

simulus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

USNM:MAMM:96463

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3996a40bd-7e66-48e5-b1cf-a847340a3e5d

Authority page

120

Authority publication

Journal of Mammalogy

Thomomys umbrinus varus

(E. R. Hall & Long, 1960)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

varus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

KU:M:75271

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

http://portal.vertnet.org/o/ku/kum?id=93254a93-1ed8-11e3-bfac-90b11c41863e

Authority page

35

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/34642028

Authority publication

Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington

Thomomys umbrinus atrovarius

(J. L. Patton, 2005)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

atrovarius

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority publication

Baltimore

Name usages

Patton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8529)

Thomomys umbrinus parviceps

(J. L. Patton, 2005)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

parviceps

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority publication

Baltimore

Name usages

Patton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8529)

Thomomys bottae simulus

(J. L. Patton, 2005)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

simulus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority publication

Baltimore

Name usages

Patton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8529)

Thomomys bottae sinaloae

(J. L. Patton, 2005)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

sinaloae

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority publication

Baltimore

Name usages

Patton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8529)

Thomomys bottae varus

(J. L. Patton, 2005)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

varus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority publication

Baltimore

Name usages

  1. Patton (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/8529)
  2. Wilson, Lacher & Mittermeier (2016:240) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/59599)

Thomomys atrovarius atrovarius

(D. E. Wilson, Lacher, & Mittermeier, 2016)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

atrovarius

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

240

Authority publication

Barcelona

Name usages

Wilson, Lacher & Mittermeier (2016:240) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/59599)

Thomomys atrovarius parviceps

(D. E. Wilson, Lacher, & Mittermeier, 2016)

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

parviceps

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

240

Authority publication

Barcelona

Name usages

Wilson, Lacher & Mittermeier (2016:240) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/59599)

Megascapheus atrovarius

Álvarez-Castañeda & Segura-Trujillo, 2025

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

atrovarius

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

54

Authority publication

Therya

Name usages

Álvarez-Castañeda & Segura-Trujillo (2025:54) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/68853)

M. a. atrovarius

Álvarez-Castañeda & Segura-Trujillo, 2025

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

atrovarius

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

54

Authority publication

Therya

Name usages

Álvarez-Castañeda & Segura-Trujillo (2025:54) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/68853)

M. a. parviceps

Álvarez-Castañeda & Segura-Trujillo, 2025

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

parviceps

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

55

Authority publication

Therya

Name usages

Álvarez-Castañeda & Segura-Trujillo (2025:55) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/68853)

M. a. simulus

Álvarez-Castañeda & Segura-Trujillo, 2025

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

simulus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

55

Authority publication

Therya

Name usages

Álvarez-Castañeda & Segura-Trujillo (2025:55) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/68853)

M. a. sinaloae

Álvarez-Castañeda & Segura-Trujillo, 2025

Family

Geomyidae

Root name

sinaloae

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

55

Authority publication

Therya

Name usages

Álvarez-Castañeda & Segura-Trujillo (2025:55) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/68853)

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