Michoacan pocket gopher
species of mammal
The Michoacan pocket gopher (Zygogeomys trichopus) is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is monotypic within the genus Zygogeomys. It is endemic to Mexico where its natural habitat is temperate, high-altitude forests. Its numbers are declining and it is listed by the IUCN as "endangered".
Description
The Michoacan pocket gopher is a small animal with short, dense, black, lustrous fur and a hairless tail. The eyes are small and deep-set and there is a pad-like region of bare skin just behind the nostrils. It is docile when caught, making no attempt to bite as do other pocket gophers.
Distribution and habitat
The Michoacan pocket gopher is endemic to the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt mountain range in central southern Mexico, where it occurs in four discrete locations near west of Lake Pátzcuaro at altitudes over 2,200 metres (7,200 ft). The fossil record shows that members of the genus Zygogeomys, including two other now extinct species, were widespread in the late Pliocene epoch in the southwestern United States. Its typical habitat is mixed forests of spruce, pine, and alder with deep friable soil suitable for burrowing.
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Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q973229. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Michoacan pocket gopher” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.