Baird's pocket gopher

The pocket gophers are considered to be medium to small in size in the order Rodentia. Baird's pocket gopher has a cylinder shaped body with most of its weight carried near its head. The zygomatic arch is shorter than the width of the mouth, meaning the dorsal of the animal exceeds the jugal bone. The neck is a little thinner but the heaviest part of the body is carried on the back of the head. The eyes are very small and beadlike and the ears are identified only by a meager flap of skin that follows the top of the temple. The external pouches on the cheeks are fur-lined and used for transporting food. The body gradually tapers from the head to the tail, widening a little at the thighs. Short hair covers the body and ranges in color from pale brown to black and is usually paler towards the belly area. The tail is short, thick, and bare with very little hair found at the base and averaging 65 mm (2.6 in) in length. The front feet are used for digging and the feet appear as long curved claws; the rear feet are smaller with an average length of 31 mm (1.2 in). The animals look identical to G. attwateri and G. bursarius and only scientific testing can distinguish them. The males have an average weight of 180–200 g (6.3–7.1 oz) and a cranium length of 19 mm (0.75 in), while the average weight for females is 120–160 g (4.2–5.6 oz) with a cranium length of 19 mm (0.75 in).