Arizona mammals

Botta's Pocket Gopher in Arizona

Thomomys bottae

Native to Arizona S5 Secure in Arizona

Not listed as nonindigenous in Arizona by USGS NAS; native to its Arizona range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)Botta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2910vvBotta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2908vvBotta's pocket gopher peering from a burrow with a foreleg braced on the rimBotta's pocket gopher emerging from a fresh soil mound on a lawnBotta's pocket gopher peeking from a burrow mouth among dead leaves
Photo: Chuck Abbe · CC BY 2.0Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)Photo: VJAnderson · CC BY-SA 4.0Botta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2910vvPhoto: VJAnderson · CC BY-SA 4.0Botta's pocket gopher (Thomomys bottae)DSC2908vvPhoto: Jonathan Eisen · CC BY 4.0Botta's pocket gopher peering from a burrow with a foreleg braced on the rimPhoto: Nina S. Zhao · CC BY 4.0Botta's pocket gopher emerging from a fresh soil mound on a lawnPhoto: Don Wellmann · CC0Botta's pocket gopher peeking from a burrow mouth among dead leaves

Botta's Pocket Gopher in Arizona, by the numbers

Occasional in Arizona 94th most recorded of 158 mammals logged in Arizona

5,496 occurrence records

Records from 2000–2026.

5,496 total records count every Arizona occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the map plots a georeferenced sample of 300; the monthly chart covers the 5,401 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Botta's Pocket Gopher in Arizona

Most sightings fall in August.

5,401 Arizona occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly Arizona records (table)
MonthRecords
January479
February712
March740
April576
May352
June329
July478
August872
September188
October239
November236
December200

Monthly botta's pocket gopher occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in Arizona, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in Arizona, with recorded sightings peaking in August, with a smaller rise in February–April.

Occurrence map

Where Botta's Pocket Gopher has been recorded in Arizona

300 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

300 Arizona records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
State Trust Land 127
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument 89
Grand Canyon National Park 37
Coconino National Forest 28
Miller Peak Wilderness 28
Coronado National Forest 26
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument 25
Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness Area 19

Protected places with the most botta's pocket gopher sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in Arizona

CountyRecords
Cochise County 748
Pima County 576
Maricopa County 557
Coconino County 450
Yavapai County 412
Graham County 400
Yuma County 391
Santa Cruz County 389
Mohave County 329
La Paz County 222
Apache County 216
Pinal County 195
3 other counties 611

The complete county distribution, spread across 15 Arizona counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

Botta’s pocket gopher is one of the most widespread mammals in Arizona by range, found in diggable soil from low desert to mountain meadow, yet its occasional-tier record here reflects a fossorial animal that spends nearly its entire life underground. Records depend on someone noticing a fresh mound, not spotting the gopher itself.

Reports cluster in March and again in October–November, months when fresh digging after rain is easiest to notice on open ground; the summer gap almost certainly reflects harder detection in dry, hard-packed soil rather than the gopher going anywhere.

Botta's Pocket Gopher (Thomomys bottae)
Full species profile Botta's Pocket Gopher Thomomys bottae Size 18–27 cm7.1–10.6 in Weight 160–250 g5.6–8.8 oz Lifespan Up to 6.1 yr View the full profile

More mammals in Arizona in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"