Four New Pocket Gophers of the Genus Cratogeomys from Jalisco, Mexico

Excerpt

In the course of my taxonomic study of the genus Cratogeomys, a high degree of variation was found between several populations of these gophers in central Jalisco. Two species, C. gymnurus and C. zinseri, occur in this part of the state. Previously C. gymnurus was known only from southern Jalisco and C. zinseri only from extreme eastern Jalisco, but through the efforts of J. R. Alcorn specimens were obtained of both species in the central part of the state. These large gophers are difficult to collect, and I am grateful to him for securing this significant material. Costs of the field work were defrayed by the National Science Foundation and the Kansas University Endowment Association. Thanks are due also to those in charge of the United States Biological Surveys Collection for the loan of comparative material. Study of the recently acquired specimens taken in central Jalisco reveals two undescribed subspecies each of C. gymnurus and C. zinseri. These may be known and described as

Cratogeomys gymnurus tellus new subspecies

Type.—Female, adult, skull and skin, No. 33454 Mus. Nat. Hist., Univ. Kansas; from 3 mi. W Tala, 4300 ft., Jalisco, México; obtained on June 2, 1949, by J. R. Alcorn, original No. 9376.

Range.—North-central Jalisco; known from several localities in the vicinity of Tala.

Diagnosis.—Size large (see measurements); tail long, naked; hind foot small; color pale for species, upper parts Kaiser Brown (capitalized terms are of Ridgway, Color Standards and Color Nomenclature, Washington, D. C., 1912), bases of individual hairs Plumbeous, tips Hazel, underparts creamy-white, bases of hairs Plumbeous; skull large, relatively narrow, rugose; zygomatic breadth narrower posteriorly than anteriorly; rostrum shallow, relatively broad in males, narrower in females; interorbital region broad; braincase narrow and flattened; basioccipital relatively wide, especially anteriorly; mastoid processes of squamosal large, knoblike; paroccipital processes long, extending laterally over more than half the width of mastoid bullae; upper incisors projecting anteriorly; maxillary teeth relatively large.

Comparisons.—From topotypes of C. g. gymnurus from Zapotlan, Jalisco, the most closely related subspecies, C. g. tellus differs in: Body smaller (total length averaging 338 instead of 341 in females and 356 instead of 369 in males); hind foot smaller (averaging 45 instead of 50 in females and 47 instead of 51 in males); color more brownish above, creamy-white rather than buffy below; skull smaller, especially in females (basilar length averaging 55.3 instead of 57.5 in females and 57.7 instead of 60.5 in males), narrower, and more rugose; zygomatic breadth less in females (averaging 42.5 compared with 46.2), greater in males (48.0 compared with 46.7); zygomata more nearly parallel; auditory bullae relatively smaller; mastoid processes of squamosal larger, knoblike; paroccipital processes longer, extending farther laterally; rostrum less massive; upper incisors projecting anteriorly, instead of being strongly recurved; maxillary teeth relatively larger.

From near-topotypes of C. g. inclarus from the Sierra Nevada de Colima, Jalisco, C. g. tellus differs in: Hind foot smaller; color paler brownish above in contrast to glossy black, creamy-white below rather than buffy, feet clothed with whitish instead of brownish hairs; skull larger (basilar length averaging 55.3 in females compared with 53.2, no males available for comparisons); zygomatic breadth less; nasals longer, extending posterior to front edge of anterior roots of zygomata rather than ending even with, or slightly behind, them; rostrum more massive; mastoid processes of squamosal larger; paroccipital processes extending farther laterally; upper incisors projecting anteriorly, rather than recurved; maxillary teeth larger (length of maxillary tooth-row averaging 14.6 compared with 13.3).

Close comparison with C. g. imparilis from Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, is not needed, but C....