It is hard to guess what a Merriam’s pocket gopher weights. But we have the answer:
An adult Merriam’s pocket gopher (Pappogeomys merriami) on average weights 420 grams (0.93 lbs).
The Merriam’s pocket gopher is from the family Geomyidae (genus: Pappogeomys). When reaching adult age, they grow up to 19.2 cm (0′ 8″). Usually, Merriam’s pocket gophers have 1 babies per litter.
As a reference: An average human weights in at 62 kg (137 lbs) and reaches an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″). Humans spend 280 days (40 weeks) in the womb of their mother and reach around 75 years of age.
Merriam’s pocket gopher (Cratogeomys merriami) is a species of rodent in the family Geomyidae. It is endemic to Mexico, where it is found in the area of the Valley of Mexico and the Valley of Toluca at elevations from 1800 to 4000 m. Its favored habitats are the Zacatonal grassland and temperate pine-oak woodlands, as well as farmland and rangeland. Its karyotype has 2n = 36 and FN = 68.Until 2005, what are now considered the separate species C. fulvescens and C. perotensis were included within this taxon. They were split off due to clear molecular, chromosomal and morphological differences. All three species are part of the C. castanops species group.The species is named after American mammalogist Clinton Hart Merriam.Although its distribution is patchy, it is not thought to be threatened.
Animals of the same family as a Merriam’s pocket gopher
We found other animals of the Geomyidae family:
- Botta’s pocket gopher with a weight of 123 grams
- Desert pocket gopher with a weight of 206 grams
- Hispid pocket gopher with a weight of 499 grams
- Central Texas pocket gopher with a weight of 600 grams
- Underwood’s pocket gopher with a weight of 250 grams
- Giant pocket gopher with a weight of 499 grams
- Darien pocket gopher with a weight of 437 grams
- Big pocket gopher with a weight of 499 grams
- Plains pocket gopher with a weight of 179 grams
- Townsend’s pocket gopher with a weight of 263 grams
Animals with the same weight as a Merriam’s pocket gopher
As a comparison, here are some other animals that weight as much as the Pappogeomys merriami:
- Bougainville naked-tailed rat bringing 397 grams to the scale
- Brown-mantled tamarin bringing 393 grams to the scale
- Giant Atlantic tree-rat bringing 502 grams to the scale
- Desert bandicoot bringing 499 grams to the scale
- Geoffroy’s tamarin bringing 493 grams to the scale
- Azara’s tuco-tuco bringing 400 grams to the scale
- Sunda flying fox bringing 466 grams to the scale
- Buffy-tufted marmoset bringing 387 grams to the scale
- Pousargues’s mongoose bringing 362 grams to the scale
- Pygmy rabbit bringing 437 grams to the scale
Animals with the same litter size as a Merriam’s pocket gopher
Here is a list of animals that have the same number of babies per litter (1) as a Merriam’s pocket gopher: