The range of G. pinetis extends from southern Georgia and southeastern Alabama to northern and central Florida. Geomys pinetis consists of five subspecies which together form this range. Geomys pinetis austrinus resides in central Florida, G. p. floridanus is in northern Florida and southern Georgia, G. p. goffi was in eastern central Florida, G. p. mobilensis is found in southeastern Alabama and northwestern Florida, and G. p. pinetis is mostly found in southern Georgia. (Pembleton et al. 1978)

Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )

endemic to a single nation

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: Northern and central Florida, southern Georgia, and southern Alabama (Pembleton and Williams 1978).

This pocket gopher is a medium-sized rodent with a total length of about 290 mm in males and 261 mm in females. This sexual dimorphic species has a size difference of roughly 10%. The cylindrical body has sepia fur, shaded orange-cinnamon on the sides of the shoulders and flanks, with white hairs on the throat and forearms, a white patch from the forehead to the nostrils, and grayish underparts. All pocket gophers' fossorial adaptations include small eyes, reduced pinnae, strong-clawed forelimbs, nearly naked tail, external fur-lined cheek pouches, and a thick body. The teeth are all evergrowing and the cheekteeth have reduced enamel. The large exposed incisors function as picks while burrowing. The dental formula is i 1/1, c 0/0, p 1/1, m 3/3, total 20.

A major distinguishing characteristic of this species is the hourglass-shaped nasals which are constricted near the middle. Geomys pinetis can be further distinguished from some other Geomys as follows: from G. fontanelus by the missing fontanel between the parietal and squamosal bones on the skull; from G. cumberlandius by a greater angled zygomatic arch which is not extended posteriorly; and from G. colonus by a broad V-shaped, rather than U-shaped interpterygoid space. (Pembleton et al. 1978, Lee 1980, Ross 1980)

Length: 34 cm

• Terrestrial

This pocket gopher generally resides in either the sandhill ecosystem or the xeric hammock ecosystem. Longleaf pines (Pinus palustris) and turkey oaks (Quercus laevis) are the two dominant trees within the sandhill ecosystem. The terrain is rolling and the soil is well-drained. The xeric hammock ecosystem is dominated by live oaks (Q. virginiana) and other hardwood species. The soil contains more organic material and is slightly moister than that of the sandhill ecosystem. In areas where sandhill and xeric hammock habitats are disappearing from modern land-use practices, pocket gophers are adapting by burrowing into road shoulders, power line rights of way, railroad embankments, fields along airport runways, parks, lawns, orchards, cemetaries, baseball fields, and golf courses. (Wilkins 1986, Lee 1980)

Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; forest

Comments: Prefers the deep sandy soils of open areas. Absent from the silt loam soils of the Rio Grande Floodplain. Open areas of long-leaf pine woods, dry loose soils. Fossorial.

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

The bulk of this pocket gopher's diet includes roots and other herbaceous material. While burrowing, these pocket gophers collect plant roots, tubers, bulbs, and stems, which they transport in their cheek pouches to underground storage chambers for later consumption. It occasionally emerges above ground and feeds on grasses, forbs, and sedges (Humphrey 1992, Wilkins 1986)

Comments: Eats roots, fleshy rhizomes, green succulents, and grasses.

Except during breeding season, only 1 individual occupies a burrow system (Maritime pocket gopher). Pocket gophers are ecologically important as prey items and in influencing soils, microtopography, habitat heterogeneity, diversity of plant species, and primary productivity (Huntly and Inouye 1988).

Comments: Peak activity probably occurs from dusk to dawn. Active year-round.

This pocket gopher breeds throughout the year. Females exhibit two major peaks of activity during February through March and June through August, whereas males display a more constant higher level of activity from January through August. Males have alternating cycles of spermatogenic activity and inactivity, and they produce sperm at a higher rate with increased age. The range of litter sizes is one to three with averages of 1.7 0.51 and 1.52 0.11 in separate studies. Females may produce two litters per year corresponding with their two peaks of sexual activity. Pocket gophers are born tail-end first and average 50 mm and 5.8 g. The eyes, ears, and cheek pouches are closed at birth. Young pocket gophers are usually weaned and dispersed by one month, and reach sexual maturity by the age of four to six months. (Pembleton et al. 1978)

Breeds year-round, with peak mating activity January-August. Litter size is 1-3 (average 2). Up to two litters per year.

Four of the five subspecies of G. pinetis are common throughout their range. G. p. goffi was listed as endangered by the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission in 1990. It is now considered to be extinct and is therefore no longer being considered for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Humphrey 1992)

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Over 203 articles were published between 1888 and 1976 regarding the damage caused by pocket gophers. Suggestions to control these pests included traps, poisons, anticoagulants, repellents, gas-chambers, and mechanical burrow-diggers. Most pocket gophers are quickly exterminated from lawns, golf courses, parks, and cemeteries. (Avise et al. 1982)

Pocket gophers play several important roles in the functioning of their ecosystems. They return leached nutrients to the surface of the soil, pushing up to 81,600 kg/ha of burrow soil to the surface per year. The soil mounds create numerous small sites for colonization and secondary succession within grasslands, sandhills, and scrub. (Humphrey 1992)

Comments: Laerm (1981) and Hall (1981) regarded subspecies cumberlandius of Cumberland Island, Georgia, as a distinct species, but Baker et al. (2003) and Patton (in Wilson and Reeder 1993, 2005) did not. Baker et al. and Patton also did not follow Hall (1981) in treating colonus and fontanelus as species distinct from G. pinetis.