May 27, 2022

The Yellow-Faced Pocket Gopher

Dr. Elmer C. Birney, professor of the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior and Curator of Mammals at the Bell Museum of Natural History from 1970 to 2000, focused his studies on various mammals across the world, including central United States, Antartica, Argentina, Australia, Chile and Mexico.

These mammals included various species of the woodrats, bats, chicken, and seals - just to name a few. But one mammal studied, in particular, was the Yellow-Faced Pocket Gopher.

  • Yellow-Face Pocket Gopher, 1971. Photograph found in the Elmer C. Birney papers.

Scientifically named Pappogeomys castoanops, the Yellow-Faced Pocket Gopher is known to prefer open plains and deep sandy soils, such as locations found in Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas (1).

  • Gopher burrows, 1971. Gopher burrows in unknown locations within Eastern Kansas.

In the manuscript entitled, "The Yellow-Face Pocket Gopher, Pappogeomys castanops, in Kansas," by Elmer Birney, J. Knox Jones, Jr. and D. Michael Mortimer, they state that the mammal inhabites primarely pastures with short grasses that are native to that part of the country or areas where calcareous deposits are located (1).

  • Gopher burrows, 1971. Gopher burrows in unknown locations within Eastern Kansas.

  • Yellow-Face Pocket Gopher, 1971. Photograph of the Yellow-Faced Pocket Gopher, found in the Elmer C. Birney papers.

According to Fort Hays State University, of which Birney received both his Bachelors degree in Biology and Masters degree in Zoology from, the Yellow-Faced Pocket Gopher is the largest gopher in Kansas and can be distinguished from other gophers by a single groove found on their upper incisor teeth, where normally there are two (2).

But trying to identify one of these gophers is harder than it may seem, as they are rarely seen except when popping outside of its burrow to remove dirt from its mouth or to eat vegetation. Instead, the yellow-face pocket gopher is working both day and night on creating their tunnels underground(2).

To learn more on the Yellow-Faced Pocket Gopher and all of the additional mammals researched by Birney, check out his collection, the Elmer C. Birney papers, found within the University Archives.

Resources:

  1. Elmer C. Birney papers, ua2000-19, University Archives, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

  2. Fort Hays State University. "Yellow-Faced Pocket Gopher." Kansas Mammal Atlas, https://webapps.fhsu.edu/ksmammal/account.aspx?o=39&t=211