Heterogeomys

thumb | right | A picture of the Heterogeomys Heterogeomys is a genus of rodent in the family Geomyidae, found in Mexico, Central America and Colombia. Heterogeomys are a small genus of rodents commonly known as pocket gophers, though the term applies to all genera within the family Geomyidae. The name pocket gopher was earned for this family because of their fur lined cheek pouches that can be used for carrying food. These pouches can also be turned inside out. Species of Heterogeomys are regarded as pests, one of less than 5% of rodent species classified as pests, and the history of man's attempts to control their populations reaches back into Mayan times. Despite some efforts to the contrary, populations of Heterogeomys seem to be on a general upwards trend. Furthermore, all of the species of Heterogeomys are considered to be of Least Concern in the World Status Key.

== Taxonomy == In 1895, C. H Meriam described 3 genera of pocket gophers: Heterogeomys, Macrogeomys, and Orthogeomys. In the 1968 taxonomic revision, R. J. Russell recognized Heterogeomys and Macrogeomys as subgenera of Orthogeomys. However, recent studies suggests that '' may be paraphyletic to Cratogeomys and Pappogeomys, which is why Spradling et al. (2016) proposed to divide this genus into (only O. grandis) and Heterogeomys (rest species; includes Macrogeomys). This classification was accepted by the American Society of Mammalogists.