Giant Pocket Gopher Skull

$50.00

The Giant Pocket Gopher is the largest species of pocket gophers in the family Geomyidae. Like all other pocket gophers, the giant pocket gopher constructs extensive systems of tunnels under the ground.

Description

Giant Pocket Gopher Skull Replica measures 2.9 inches. Giant Pocket Gopher Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Made in USA. Our precise skull can be used as a teaching tool, museum skull exhibit, home décor skull, or office décor skull.

The Giant pocket gopher, Oaxacan Pocket Gopher or Orthogeomys grandis is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is found in Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. It is 22–30 cm (9–12 in) long, and 480–985 g (1–2 lb.) in weight.

The giant pocket gopher or Orthogeomys grandis digs a burrow system (lodge) using its strong, large-clawed forefeet. It feeds on roots, bulbs, and other underground plant parts and also comes above ground at night to forage for stems and shoots, which it carries to its lodge in its fur-lined cheek pouches.

Normally solitary, during the breeding season the Giant pocket gopher or Orthogeomys grandis forms groups of one male and 4 females. Two or more young are born to each female in a grass-lined nesting chamber at the lowest level of the lodge.

Giant Pocket gophers or Orthogeomys grandis are burrowing rodents that get their name from their fur-lined cheek pouches, or pockets. These pockets are used, like a squirrel’s, for carrying food. However, the pockets on a gopher open on the outside and turn inside out for emptying and cleaning.

Giant Pocket gophers or Orthogeomys grandis are well-equipped for a digging, tunneling lifestyle, with large-clawed front paws, small eyes and ears, and sensitive whiskers that assist with movement in the dark.

Their pliable fur and sparsely haired tails, which also serve as a sensory mechanism, help gophers run backward almost as fast as they can run forward.

Their large front teeth are used to loosen soil and rocks while digging, as well as to cut roots. The pocket gopher’s short fur is a rich brown or yellowish brown, but also may be grayish or closely resemble the local soil color.

Shop More Museum Quality Rodent Skulls in Rodent Skull Store

Additional information

Weight 1.5 lbs
Dimensions 2.9 in
Giant Pocket Gopher Facts

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Geomyidae
Genus: Orthogeomys
Species: O. grandis
Binomial name: Orthogeomys grandis