Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone has mounted a gopher? As I was skinning out my gopher, when I got toward the front legs I notice some kind of extra skin and I was careful not to cut that off. Once I skinned out the gopher completey, I separated the extra skin until it was unable to separate at the cheek area(as if it were like separating the skin fom cartilage on the ears of a mammal). The extra skin is about an inch long and its under the whiskers on its cheek. I didn't notice this extra skin on the gopher when it as froze whole or thawed out, It was as if it was tucked in I guess. I turned that skin right side out and it had fur(good thing I didn't cut it off).I thought pocket gopher meant its small enough to fit in a pocket since its small, LOL. I might be wrong and it could mean that it has a pocket(extra skin area). Any ideas on what to do with this when mounting? Please help! Appreciate the fact that you read this post.
Bruce
P.S. I had a pet hamster awhile back and I know when it was done eating....it had the food stuffed in its cheeks for a long while until it went to it stomach. Could it be similar?
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thats it.
Bruce:
You asked me to read your post and reply. I am surprised that no one answered it already!
The critter you have is a member of Rodentia, specifically the Family Geomyidae - the Pocket Gophers.
Pocket gophers are among the most specialized of all rodents. They are unique to North America. The folds of skin which you noticed are the physical features for which the gophers are named. The fur lined sacs or "pockets" along each cheek, which reaches to the shoulder muscles, are used to store food or nesting materials. The gopher can empty the pouches by pushing them forward with their forepaws to invert and dump the contents when the nesting cavity or storage cavity is reached. The gopher can clean and groom the pockets once they are inverted. A specialized muscle then pulls them back in place for re-use.
There are three genera and at least sixteen (16) species of pocket gophers in the United States. Color, size, incisor configuration, and range are all identifiers for taxonomy purposes. The three Genera are distinguished by the number of grooves or lack of grooving on the upper incisors.
Western pocket gophers, (Thomomys), have no conspicuous grooves on the upper incisors. The Yellow-faced pocket gopher (Pappageomys)has one groove, and the Eastern pocket gophers have two.
When mounting the pocket gopher, the pouches may be inverted, cleaned and filled with various materials to indicate full pouches that are often observed in the field.
Hope this is the answer you were seeking.
Good luck,
Bill Gaither (Cur)
P.S. In the future, Bruce, you can email me for an answer at:
wildart@prodigy.net............see ya!