Head and body – about 5 to 7 inches

Tail length – 2 to 3 ¾ inches

Weight – about 2 ½ to 8 ½ ounces

Size and coloration of valley pocket gopher varies depending on the geographic area in which it lives. The fur is usually a shade of brown.

Valley pocket gophers may be found in a variety of habitat and soil types. Habitat types include cropland, desert, grassland, savanna, chaparral, and woodland.

Both subspecies, abstrusus and curtatus, are endemic to Nevada. Valley pocket gophers occupy the southwestern United States and Mexico.

Valley pocket gophers are generally solitary except during the breeding season. They are active year-round in day or night. They utilize underground burrow systems.

The diet includes roots, bulbs, tubers, and other vegetation parts. Foraging occurs underground in day or night and on the surface at night or on overcast days.

4 to 8 young are born after a gestation period of approximately 19 days in an underground burrow. Breeding occurs 2 or more times per year.

Valley pocket gophers are secure across their range. Subspecies abstrusus and curtatus are listed as Nevada Sensitive Species, BLM Sensitive Species, and Nevada National Heritage Program Sensitive and Threatened species.

Both subspecies abstrusus and curtatus are considered vulnerable due to their reliance on unique, specialized habitat and a very limited geographic range.

Complete distribution data is needed on the two subspecies of the valley pocket gopher in Nevada.