See graphical summary in Fig. 2 and endoparasite list in Table 3.

Interestingly, even though helminthology began in Europe (the western Palearctic) in the late 1800’s with the work of Leuckart, it was not until the 1920’s when Schulz (1927) described the first two species of helminth parasites from two species of subterranean rodents from the Palearctic region. First, Physocephalus ellobii Schulz, 1927 was found from the stomach of Ellobius tancrei Blasius, 1884 collected from Kotlyrevsky, the northern Caucasus region of Russia. Second, Gongylonema longispiculum spalacis Schulz, 1927 was described as the first subspecies found under the mucous membrane of the stomach of Spalax microphthalmus Güldenstädt, 1770 collected from the village Kurichya Kosa near the Don River region north of the coast of the Sea of Azov, Russia. Soon after, Marcu (1930) described Mammalakis spalacis Marcu, 1930 also obtained from S. microphthalmus collected from Romania.

Somewhat later, Schulz and Aloyan (1950), described Ascaris spalacis Schulz & Aloyan, 1950 from Lesser mole-rat, Nannospalax leucodon (Nordmann, 1840). Kirshenblat collected the materials included in the description from near the small towns of Amamla and Chandura, of the Spitakskii and Akhalkalakskii regions of Armenia, in 1947. All these nematode samples were found from the small intestines of the hosts, necropsied by Aloyan in 1948.

Petrov and Potechina (1953) described Trichuris spalacis from S. microphthalmus collected from an unspecified locality in Ukraine.

Razumova (1957) reported the following helminth parasites found in specimens of the Long-clawed mole vole, Prometheomys schaposchnikowi Satunin, 1901, captured from Ossetia, Russia. These include Dicrocoelium dendriticum (Rudolphi, 1819), Heligmosomum halli (Schulz, 1926), Microcephaloides Haukisalmi et al., 2008, Taenia polyacantha Leuckart, 1856, and Hydatigera (syn. Taenia) taeniaeformis (Batsch, 1786).

Tokobaev (1960) reported the collection of Ellobius talpinus (Pallas, 1770) from the Kyrgyz Republic and found larvae of Echinococcus multilocularis from the liver. In the same report, he reported Aprostatandrya macrocephala Douthitt, 1915, from the small intestine and larvae of Mesocestoides Vaillant, 1863 from the body cavity, liver, and small intestines. In work on mole voles just a short time later, Zanina and Tokobaev (1962) reported Catenotaenia pusilla Goeze, 1782, Hymenolepis diminuta Rudolphi, 1819, Moniliformis moniliformis Bremser, 1811, and Hydatigera (syn. Taenia) taeniaeformis (Batsch, 1786) from E. talpinus collected in Tajikistan.

Andreiko (1963) reported that from 1959 through 1962, 70 Lesser mole-rats, (Nannospalax leucodon) collected from the central part of Moldova, Romania had the following helminths: Mammalakis spalacis from the cecum, Taenia straminea (Goeze, 1782) Spasskii, 1954 and unidentified species of Aprostatandrya Kirshenblat, 1938 from the small intestine. In addition, she described Heligmosomum moldovensis Andreiko, 1963 from the small intestine of N. leucodon.

Kozlov and Yangolenko (1963) described Ganguleterakis spalaxi Kozlov & Yangolenko, 1963 from Spalax microphthalmus collected from Ukraine.

Kirshenblat (1965) described a new species of nematode Heligmosomum spalacis from the small intestine of the mole-rat Spalax graecus Nehring, 1898 collected from Chernivtsi, Ukraine.

Levine and Ivens (1965) described two species of Eimeria Fischer, 1814 from the Northern mole vole, including: Ellobius kazakhstanensis Levine & Ivens, 1965, and Ellobius talpini Levine & Ivens, 1965 from the fecal of Ellobius talpinus collected from Kazakhstan.

Musaev and Veisov (1963) described Eimeria lutescenae Musaev & Veisov, 1963 from Ellobius lutescens Thomas, 1897 from Nakhichevanskaia, Azerbaijan. In addition, two Eimeria (Schneider, 1875) species were reported with their descriptions, including: Eimeria ellobii Svanbaev, 1965 and Eimeria tadshikistanica Veisov, 1964 from Ellobius talpinus collected from Tajikistan.

Shaykenov and Mahmutov (1968) reported Echinococcus multilocularis found in Myospalax myospalax (Laxmann, 1773) collected from eastern Kazakhstan. This record is considered a new intermediate host for this tapeworm. Also in the same year, Mészáros (1968) reported the occurrence of Heligmosomum spalacis recovered from the Lesser mole-rat, Nannospalax leucodon, collected from Hungary.

Murai (1968) recorded the Lesser mole-rat, N. leucodon, as a new host of Moniliformis moniliformis. The acanthocephalid parasite was extracted from the small intestines of two individuals of Lesser mole-rats. Also, Heligmosomum spalacis was found in the host. The study has conducted near Hajdubagos village, Hajdu-Bihar, in Hungary.

Nadtochii (1970), during a study of helminth parasites of rodents in far eastern Russia, the author described Heligmosomum myospalaxi Nadtochii, 1970 obtained from the small intestine of Myospalax myospalax collected from the seashore of eastern Russia.

Wertheim and Nevo (1971), during a study of helminths of birds and mammals from Israel recovered several species of helminth parasites from the Middle East blind mole-rat, Nannospalax ehrenbergi Nehring, 1898 including Ganguleterakis spalaxi, Gongylonema longispiculum Schulz, 1927, Trichuris muris (Schrank, 1788), and one unidentified nematode in the genus Heligmonella Mönnig, 1927. They also described Heligmonina nevoi Wertheim & Nevo, 1971 from the same host species.

Sharpilo (1973) described Longistriata spalacis from the small intestine of Lesser mole-rat, Nannospalax leucodon. He reported that this nematode species was also found from Spalax arenarius Reshetnik, 1939, and Spalax microphthalmus. These specimens were all collected from Ukraine.

Sharpilo (1976), during a study of helminth parasites of rodent fauna in Ukraine, reported Hydatigera (syn. Taenia) taeniaeformis from Spalax microphthalmus.

Veisov (1975) described three new species of coccidia of the genus Eimeria Schneider, 1875 from Nannospalax leucodon, including Eimeria maralikiensis Veisov, 1975 and Eimeria talikiensis Veisov, 1975 collected from Talnisk and Maralik Aniisk regions, Armenian, also, describing Eimeria leucodonica Veisov, 1975 from the Talinsk region only.

Sayin et al. (1977), during a survey of Lesser mole-rats, Nannospalax leucodon, in Lalahan district in Ankara, Turkey, described six new species of coccidia in the genus Eimeria Schneider, 1875 including E. elliptica Sayin et al., 1977, E. lalahanensis Sayin et al., 1977, E. spalacis Sayin et al., 1977, E. turkmenica Sayin et al., 1977, E. tuzdili Sayin et al., 1977, and Isospora anatolicum Sayin et al., 1977.

Sayın (1980), during a survey conducted from 1976 through 1978, studied 41 individuals of the Middle East blind mole-rats, Nannospalax ehrenbergi, from Urfa, Adiyaman, and Maras provinces in Turkey. As a result, seven new species of coccidia of the genus Eimeria Schneider, 1875 were described. Those include E. adiyamanensis Sayın, 1980, E. celebii Sayın, 1980, E. haranica Sayın, 1980, E. marasensis Sayın, 1980, E. oytuni Sayın, 1980, E. torosicum Sayın, 1980, and E. urfensis Sayın, 1980.

Korniushin and Sharpilo (1986) reported a larval Taenia which they reported as Coenurus parviuncinatus Kirschenblatt, 1939 obtained from Nannospalax leucodon collected from Armenia.

Fair et al. (1990) described a new species of tapeworm, Microcephaloides nevoi Fair et al., 1990 from the Middle East blind mole-rat Nannospalax ehrenbergi in Masada, Golan Heights, Israel. This species has been redescribed by Haukisalmi (2009).

Shakhmatova (1990) described Heligmoptera sibirica Shakhmatova, 1990 found from the Siberian zokor, Myospalax myospalax, collected from the Gorno-Altai autonomous region of Russia.

Golemansky and Darwish (1992) described Eimeria microspalacis Golemansky & Darwish, 1992 from the Middle East blind mole-rat, Nannospalax ehrenbergi, collected from the regions of Damascus and Latakia, western Syria.

Couch et al. (1993) described four coccidian parasites obtained from the Middle East blind mole-rat, Nannospalax ehrenbergi, collected from 12 different localities in Israel including Eimeria anzanensis Couch et al., 1993, E. carmelensis Couch et al., 1993, E. spalacensis Couch et al., 1993, and Isospora spalacensis Couch et al., 1993.

Ganzorig et al. (1999) redescribed Ascarops strongylina (Rudolphi, 1819) from the Transbaikal zokor, Myospalax psilurus (Milne-Edwards, 1874) collected from near the Halh Gol River, Dornod province, eastern Mongolia.

Elias et al. (2002), during a joint program of French, British, and China on echinococcosis screening in Zhang County, China (Gansu), two new species of Heligmoptera Nadtochiy, 1977 were described from the small intestines of the Chinese zokor, Eospalax fontanierii (Milne-Edwards, 1867) including: Heligmoptera giraudouxi Elias & Durette-Desset, 2002, and Heligmoptera querei Elias & Durette-Desset, 2002 with the new description of the genus.

More recently in China, Ming et al. (2004) described Ransomus qinghaiensis Ming et al., 2004 from the cecum of the Plateau zokor, Eospalax baileyi (Thomas, 1911) collected from Qilian County, Qinghai province.

Craig (2006), in a survey and epidemiological assessment of human alveolar echinococcosis in 33 provinces of China, listed the Chinese zokor, Eospalax fontanierii as one of the intermediate hosts of Echinococcus multilocularis.

Malsawmtluangi and Tandon (2009) reported Hymenolepis diminuta attained from the Lesser bamboo rat, Cannomys bodius (Hodgson, 1841) collected from Mizoram, northeast India.

Nalbantoğlu et al. (2010) reported three species of coccidia acquired from the feces of the Lesser mole-rat, Nannospalax leucodon, collected from the Eryaman district of Ankara, Turkey. Those are Eimeria celebii , E. oytuni Sayin, 1980, and E. torosicum Sayin, 1980. In the same year, Makarikov et al. (2010) described the cestode Nomadolepis ellobii Makarikov et al., 2010, simultaneously establishing a new genus for the tapeworm that was obtained from the small intestine of the Northern mole vole, Ellobius talpinus, collected from southwestern Siberia, Russia.

Soon after, Makarikov and Tkach (2013) described Hymenolepis rymzhanovi Makarikov & Tkach, 2013 from the small intestine of the Siberian zokor, Myospalax myospalax collected from eastern Kazakhstan.

Cao et al. (2014) described four new species of Eimeria from the Plateau zokor, Eospalax baileyi, collected from Haibei area, Qinghai Province, China. The parasites include Eimeria baileyii Cao et al., 2014, Eimeria fani Cao et al., 2014, Eimeria menyuanensis Cao et al., 2014, and Eimeria myospalacensis Cao et al., 2014. In the same year, Zhao et al. (2014) identified Versteria (syn. Taenia) mustelae (Gmelin, 1790) using DNA sequencing of larval cysts found in the Plateau zokor, Eospalax baileyi collected from Datong County, east of Qinghai province, China. In this study, no data were provided on number of individuals infected.

Afonso et al. (2015) reported Echinococcus multilocularis from the livers of Eastern mole voles, Ellobius tancrei which acts as the intermediate host for this cestode, collected from Sary Mogol, Alay valley, Kyrgyzstan. The authors also noted that the definitive hosts were local domestic dogs, whose feces were examined for E. multilocularis. The parasite samples from the dogs were genetically identical to those found in the intermediate host.

In 2017, a flurry of activity resulted from workers in the field. Vlasenko and Krivopalov (2017) reported Moniliformis clarki (Ward, 1917), Paranoplocephala Lühe, 1910 and larvae of Versteria mustelae (Gmelin, 1790) from Myospalax myospalax collected from the southern Tomsk region, Russia. Then, Arzamani et al. (2017) reported Syphacia obvelata (Rudolphi, 1802) (probably a misidentification as S. obvelata occurs only in species of Mus) obtained in the Southern mole vole, Ellobius fuscocapillus (Blyth, 1843), collected from north Khorasan province of northeast Iran. Finally in 2017, Chaisiri et al. (2017), during an ecological study of host-parasite associations, reported Mammalakis spumosa (Schneider, 1866) from Rhizomys pruinosus in Cambodia.

Wei et al. (2019) reported Cryptosporidium parvum Tyzzer, 1912 and C. occultus Kváč, 2018 found in the Chinese bamboo rat, Rhizomys sinensis, collected from south-central China.

Dursahinhan et al. (2022) described Arostrilepis batsaikhani from the Zaisan mole vole, Ellobius tancrei collected from Baitag Bogd, Hovd province, western Mongolia.

See graphical summary in Fig. 3 and endoparasite list Table 4.

Leidy in (1857), at a meeting of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, displayed some warbles taken from an evidently incapacitated pocket gopher by the side of the road, identified as T. borealis [probably a synonym of T. talpoides] near the Bridger’s pass summit of the Rocky Mountains. This record represents the first known report of an endoparasite from a member of the rodent family Geomyidae. Soon after the groundbreaking work by Leidy, Charles Wardell Stiles (1895) reported the first helminth parasite from a geomyid when he described Pseudocittotaenia praecoquis (Stiles, 1895) from Geomys bursarius (Shaw, 1800) collected near Ames, Iowa (Stiles, 1897).

Hall (1912) reported on the parasite fauna of Colorado and recorded several nematodes and some unidentified cestodes from Thomomys fossor J.A. Allen (probably a syn. of T. talpoides). Soon after, Herman Douthitt (1915) described four new species of anoplocephalid cestodes from pocket gophers collected from the central United States. Anoplocephaloides variabilis (Douthitt, 1915), A. infrequens (Douthitt, 1915), and Andrya macrocephala Douthitt, 1915 were all described from specimens taken from G. bursarius collected from Illinois, Minnesota, and North Dakota. Monoecocestus anoplocephaloides (Douthitt, 1915) was described from some specimens taken from Geomys breviceps Baird collected near Norman, Oklahoma. Douthitt (1915) also reported one unidentified species of Oöchoristica Luhe, 1898, and one immature form of Cittotaenia, now known as Pseudocittotaenia, Tenora, 1976 from G. bursarius. Douthitt (1915) also reported numerous individuals of eight different species of Hymenolepis from two species of pocket gophers including: G. bursarius collected in Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Manitoba, Canada; G. breviceps collected in Oklahoma and Texas; and Geomys personatus True, collected in Texas.

Hall (1916) described the following nematodes from Thomomys fossor J. A. Allen [syn. T. talpoides (Richardson, 1828)]: Trichuris fossor Hall, 1916, from specimens collected near both Crested Butte and Livermore, Colorado and Vexillata vexillata (Hall, 1916) from gophers collected from mountain meadows near Livermore, Colorado. These nematodes were described from the same material that Hall (1912) had previously studied. Additionally, the nematode Protospirura ascaroidea Hall, 1916 was described from specimens recovered from the stomachs of Geomys bursarius collected near Norman, Oklahoma by Herman Douthitt and sent to MC Hall for study.

Skidmore (1929) described a species of Coccidia named Eimeria geomydis Skidmore, 1929 from the intestinal tract of Geomys bursarius Shaw, collected near Lincoln, Nebraska while Dikmans (1932) reported Capillaria (syn. Calodium) hepaticum (Bancroft, 1893) as a parasite of Thomomys fossor (syn. T. talpoides) collected in the Medicine Bow Mountains of Wyoming. In that same year, English (1932) examined 161 specimens of Geomys bursarius collected in Brazos County, Texas and found 23 infected with the stomach nematode Protospirura ascaroidea Hall, 1916, and eight infected with an unknown species of Hymenolepis.

Hubbell and Goff (1939) reported Mastophorus muris ascaroides (Gmelin, 1790) to occur commonly in the stomach of Geomys sp. (most likely G. pinetis) collected near Leesburg, Lake County, Florida.

McIntosh (1941) described Catenotaenia linsdalei McIntosh, 1941 from Thomomys bottae bottae (Eydoux & Gervais, 1836) collected near Monterey, California on the Hastings Natural History Reservation.

Caballero and Cerecero (1943) described Vexillata convoluta from the small intestine of the Merriam’s pocket gopher, Cratogeomys merriami (Thomas, 1893), collected from the state of Michoacan, Mexico.

Chandler (1945) redescribed Trichuris fossor Hall, 1916 from Thomomys bottae bottae from specimens collected on the Hastings Natural History Reservation near Monterey, California. This was the first good description of the eggs of T. fossor, and the first report of T. fossor from T. bottae. In the same year during an ecological study of the small mammals collected from Northrup Canyon in eastern Washington State, Rankin (1945) recorded Hymenolepis diminuta (Rudolphi, 1819) from Thomomys talpoides, see discussion below. The next year, Wenrich (1946) recorded a species of Monocercomonoides Travis, 1932 as a cecal commensal (flagellate) of Botta’s pocket gopher, Thomomys bottae.

Tryon (1947) reported both cestodes and nematodes in Thomomys talpoides from Montana, with most of his field work occurring in the Bridger Mountains. Less than one percent of the gophers necropsied contained an unidentified species of cestode. Nematodes identified as belonging to the family Trichuridae were found in 100% of the pocket gophers examined for endoparasites. In areas of low pocket gopher density, the prevalence of infection was low (approximately 10%); however, in areas of high gopher density, the prevalence of infection approached 80%. Tryon (1947) speculated that the young gophers became infected before leaving the parental burrows, and by August, the prevalence of infection for the young pocket gophers was ca. 50%. Nematodes, probably of the genus Protospirura were found in the stomachs of some gophers, with as many as 42 in an individual pocket gopher’s stomach. Concerning the presence of warbles in the pocket gophers examined during the study, Tryon stated “only 15 out of over a thousand animals examined showed warbles. Of these, ten were juveniles indicating that they may be above ground more than the adults, probably during migration from the parental burrows.”

Rausch and Schiller (1949), during a study of cestodes of the genus Andrya Railliet, 1893, mentioned Andrya macrocephala Douthitt, 1915 as occurring in Thomomys talpoides tenellus Goldman from the Jackson Hole Wildlife Park in Wyoming.

Hansen (1950), during a study of the tapeworms of rodents, recorded Andrya macrocephala Douthitt, 1915 as occurring in 5 of 5 Geomys bursarius examined with up to 12 cestodes per host. Hansen (1950) also recorded Monoecocestus anoplocephaloides (Douthitt, 1915) from Thomomys bottae collected in the region of Sacramento, California. Interestingly, this cestode has not since been reported from any members of the genus Thomomys.

Smith (1951), in a study of the cestodes of Thomomys talpoides collected from Carbon County, Wyoming, reported the following cestodes: Pseudocittotaenia praecoquis (Stiles, 1895) from the small intestine; P. megasacca (Smith, 1951) also from the small intestine (see below for clarification of the taxonomy of these two species). Smith (1951) also included a list of the cestodes reported from pocket gophers up to that time and attempted to clarify the taxonomic relationships between Schizotaenia Janicki, 1904 and Monoecocestus Beddard, 1914.

Ingles (1952) reported Trichuris sp. (probably T. fossor) as a common parasite of the cecum of Thomomys monticola J. A. Allen, 1893. All specimens that Ingles examined came from an elevation of ca. 7,000 feet in the Sierra Nevada of California. In the same year, Everett Schiller (1952), in a study of the morphological variation in Hymenolepis (syn. Arostrilepis) horrida (von Linstow, 1901) reported Thomomys bottae from near O’Neals California as a host.

Burnham (1953), during a study of the parasites of Geomys bursarius, collected from four counties in Oklahoma reported the following species of parasites: Protospirura muris ascaroides (Hall, 1916) (syn. Mastophorus muris) from the stomachs of 18 hosts; Litomosa filaria Beneden, 1897 from the pleural cavities of 19 gophers (this is probably a misidentification, see discussion below regarding the filarioid nematodes of pocket gophers); Ostertagia sp. from the stomachs of five gophers; Hymenolepis diminuta (Rudolphi, 1819) from the small intestines of ten hosts (see discussion below for clarification of the problem concerning H. diminuta in geomyids); Monoecocestus anoplocephaloides (Douthitt, 1915) from 25 hosts, with a range of infection of 1–100 worms per host; and Cittotaenia perplexa Stiles, 1897 from two gophers.

Soon after, Smith (1954) described Hymenandrya thomomyis from the small intestine of Thomomys talpoides collected in Colorado and in this same publication, he recommended that Catenotaenia linsdalei McIntosh, 1941 be considered a synonym of C. dendritica (Goeze, 1782) Janicki 1904.

Voge (1955) in a catalogue of the cestode parasites of California mammals, listed Catenotaenia dendritica (Goeze, 1782), Hymenolepis citelli (McLeod, 1933), and an unidentified species of Hymenolepis from T. bottae.

The next year, Voge (1956), in a list of the nematode parasites of California mammals, reported Trichuris fossor Hall, 1916 as a parasite of T. bottae and in the same year, Lubinsky (1956) reported Calodium (syn. Capillaria) hepaticum from T. talpoides in Alberta, Canada. Soon after, continuing his work on small mammals, Lubinsky (1957) in a list of the helminth parasites of rodents from Alberta included the following as parasites of Thomomys talpoides: Versteria (syn. Taenia) mustelae (larvae) from the mesenteries, lungs, liver, and kidneys of gophers collected in northern and middle Alberta: Anoplocephaloides variabilis (Douthitt, 1915) recovered from the colon (which is a doubtful location for a cestode) from six localities in middle and southern Alberta; Calodium (syn. Capillaria) hepaticum from the livers of gophers collected from central and southern Alberta; Trichuris fossor from the cecum of gophers collected from central Alberta; Protospirura ascaroidea Hall, 1916 from the stomachs of gophers from middle Alberta; Litomosoides carinii (Travassos, 1919) from the coelom of pocket gophers from middle and southern Alberta. In the same year, Levine, et al. (1957) described Eimeria thomomysis from specimens of T. bottae collected in the Grand Canyon of Arizona.

Howard and Childs (1959) during a study of the ecology of Thomomys monticola reported Hymenolepis horrida (von Linstow, 1901) to occur commonly in adult pocket gophers. They stated, “Most of the adults had several tapeworms (Hymenolepis horrida), and one animal had 108 immature tapeworms with short strobila. None of the five juvenile gophers examined had tapeworms.” Based on recent work by Dursahinhan et al. (2022), it appears now that the species identified as H. horrida may be referred to the genus Arostrilepis.

Frandsen and Grundmann (1960) discussed the geographic distribution of Trichuris fossor Hall, 1916 and Ransomus rodentorum Hall, 1916 from Thomomys talpoides and T. umbrinus in the Lake Bonneville basin of Utah. They speculated that the distribution of these two species of nematodes in Thomomys sp. in this area supports the contention that competition occurred between the two species of pocket gophers resulting in the present-day distribution patterns of the pocket gophers and their respective helminths.

Rausch (1961) reported Calodium (syn. Capillaria) hepaticum from Thomomys talpoides tenellus Goldman from near Moran, Wyoming, collected in June of 1948 and Frandsen and Grundmann (1961) reported the following helminth parasite species from several subspecies of both Northern pocket gopher, Thomomys talpoides, and the Southern pocket gopher Thomomys umbrinus (Richardson, 1829). These species include Ascaris laevis Leidy, 1856, Hymenolepis citelli, Ransomus rodentorum, and Trichuris fossor. However, Anoplocephaloides infrequens (Douthitt, 1915), A. variabilis (Douthitt, 1915), Pseudocittotaenia praecoquis (Stiles, 1985), Arostrilepis horrida, and Nippostrongylus muris (Yokogawa, 1920) have been reported from T. talpoides. In addition, Paruterina candelabraria (Goeze, 1781) and Moniliformis clarki are only reported from T. umbrinus.

Stock (1962) reported three males and one female of the nematode Ransomus rodentorum from the cecae of two specimens of Thomomys talpoides fossor, collected at the junction of Dry Gulch and the Gunnison River, Colorado, at ca. 7,400 feet altitude.

Rissky (1962) reported Monocercomonoides from the cecum of the Plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius, collected from Clay County, South Dakota.

Ubelaker and Downhower (1965) in a study of the endo and ectoparasites of Geomys bursarius in Kansas, reported Calodium (syn. Capillaria) hepaticum from the cecum of a single pocket gopher and Andrya macrocephala Douthitt, 1915 and Anoplocephaloides infrequens (Douthitt, 1915) were found to occur in seven and six of the pocket gophers examined, respectively.

Lainson (1968), during a parasitological study in El Cayo District British Honduras, a new species of coccidian parasite (Eimeria orthogeomyos) was described from the Giant pocket gopher, Orthogeomys grandis (Thomas, 1893) collected from Baking Pot, El Cayo District, Central America (Lainson, 1968).

Tryon and Cunningham (1968) in a study of Thomomys talpoides along an altitudinal transect in the Beartooth Mountains of Wyoming reported Calodium (syn. Capillaria) hepaticum from the livers of 5%, 37%, and 8% of the gophers from the Alpine, the Canadian, and the transition life zones, respectively.

Douglas (1969) studied the ecology of the pocket gophers of Mesa Verde, Colorado. He reported Trichuris fossor Hall, 1916 and Cuterebra cf. cyanella (bot fly larvae) from Thomomys bottae aureus Douglas (1969) stated that, “Of the gophers infected with bot fly larvae, the highest prevalence of infection occurred during September, with no gophers carrying larvae during the spring.” Douglas (1969) also stated “Specimens of Cestoda currently are being studied and will be reported elsewhere.” To our knowledge, no report has ever been published.

Todd and Tryon (1970) described Eimeria fitzgeraldi Todd & Tryon, 1970 from Thomomys talpoides collected from the Beartooth Mountains, Park County Wyoming. Oocysts were recovered from the feces of two of ten juvenile males and one of 31 adult females (pocket gophers).

Todd et al. (1971) in a study of the endoparasites of the Northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) from Park County, Wyoming, reported the following species of parasites from a total of 46 specimens of T. talpoides examined: Eimeria thomomysis Levine, Ivens & Kruidenier, 1957 was found to occur in the fecal pellets of 24 of the individual gophers; E. fitzgeraldi Todd & Tryon, 1970 was found in the feces of two gophers; cestode cysticerci of the family Taeniidae were found in the mesenteries near the stomach and cecum of one gopher; fragments of the cestode Catenotaenia linsdalei McIntosh, 1941 were found in the body cavities of two animals (this is a dubious body location record); Anoplocephaloides variabilis (Douthitt, 1915) was present in the small intestines of 18 gophers; A. infrequens (Douthitt, 1915) was recovered from the small intestine of seven gophers; Anoplocephaloides sp. was recovered from the small intestines of 22 gophers R. rodentorum was found in the cecum of 34 gophers, and in the large intestine of one; Vexillata vexillata was recovered from the small intestines of two gophers; Protospirura ascaroidea was found in the stomachs of two animals; Trichuris fossor was found in the ceca of 30 gophers; and Calodium (syn. Capillaria) hepaticum was recovered from the livers of 18 of the gophers examined.

Todd and Lepp (1972) redescribed Trichuris fossor from specimens recovered from T. talpoides from Park County, Wyoming.

Grundmann et al. (1976), in a paper discussing the mechanisms of parasitic helminth population regulation in rodents, listed the following parasites as occurring in Thomomys talpoides in Utah: Trichuris fossor, Vexillata vexillata, Ascaris laevis Leidy, 1856. Hymenolepis horrida, and T. fossor were reported from T. bottae in the same paper.

Rausch (1976) in a study of the rodent cestode genera Paranoplocephala Luhe, 1910 and Anoplocephaloides Baer, 1923 examined the type material of Anoplocephaloides infrequens (Douthitt, 1915) from Geomys bursarius collected by Douthitt in Brainerd, Minnesota, and specimens of A. variabilis (Douthitt, 1915) collected by Douthitt in central Illinois from Geomys bursarius. Also studied by Rausch (1976) were seven specimens of A. variabilis from Thomomys talpoides collected at Emerson, Manitoba, 10 km north of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada and from 5 km south of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Rausch (1976) stated “I also obtained it (A. variabilis from T. talpoides) in two of 11 of these rodents at Moran, Wyoming, in 1949.”

Beveridge (1978) in a revision of the genus Pseudocittotaenia Tenora, 1976, listed the synonyms of P. praecoquis (Stiles, 1895) and described P. glandularis Beveridge, 1978 from some specimens taken from Thomomys talpoides in Utah by Frandsen and Grundmann (1961), and from some specimens from T. talpoides in Wyoming. Frandsen and Grundmann (1961) evidently misidentified P. glandularis Beveridge, 1978 and had determined that the specimens that they found in T. talpoides were Pseudocittotaenia praecoquis (Stiles, 1895). The specimens from the Wyoming pocket gophers were from material that Smith (1951) had mistakenly identified and redescribed as P. praecoquis. Beveridge (1978) also listed as synonyms: P. megasacca (Smith, 1951) with P. praecoquis (Stiles, 1895). Also reported by Beveridge (1978) and not reported elsewhere in the literature was Pseudocittotaenia praecoquis from T. talpoides tenellus Goldman, collected by Robert L. Rausch near Moran, Wyoming in June of 1948.

Jasmer (1980) in a thesis written at Humboldt State University listed the following parasites from Thomomys bottae (Eydoux & Gervais): Ransomus rodentorum, Trichuris fossor, Hymenolepis citelli, and an unidentified species of Heligmosomoides Hall, 1916. He also discussed the biological characteristics and taxonomy of R. rodentorum (some of his specimens are now in the Manter Laboratory Parasite Collection).

Gardner and Jasmer (1983) described Heligmosomoides thomomyos Gardner & Jasmer, 1983 from Thomomys bottae (Eydoux & Gervais) and T. bulbivorus (Richardson) from Humboldt County, California and Benton County, Oregon, respectively. They included some measurements and remeasurements of two other species of Heligmosomoides: H. longispiculatus (Dickmans, 1940) and H. montanus Durette-Desset, 1968.

Gardner (1985) described Hymenolepis tualatinensis from the duodenum of the Camas pocket gopher, Thomomys bulbivorus (Richardson, 1829) collected near the Tualatin River in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. In the report, several helminth species were documented during the study including Arostrilepis horrida also from the small intestine, Trichuris fossor from the cecum, Ransomus rodentorum from the cecum, and Heligmosomoides thomomyos from the duodenum.

Gardner and Schmidt (1986) described Litomosoides thomomydis from the abdominal cavity of the Northern pocket gopher, Thomomys talpoides, and Botta’s pocket gopher, Thomomys bottae, from Huerfano County, Colorado. Also, L. westi was described from the abdominal and pleural cavities of the Plains Pocket Gopher, Geomys bursarius, collected from Weld County, Colorado.

Shortly after this work, Gardner and Schmidt (1988) described two new species in the genus Hymenolepis Weinland, 1858, including H. weldensis and H. geomydis from the small intestines (duodenum) of the Plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius, collected from Weld County, Colorado.

Pitts et al. (1990) reported Litomosoides westi Gardner & Schmidt, 1986 from Geomys personatus True, 1889 collected from Duval and Zapata counties in Texas.

Upton et al. (1992) reported Eimeria geomydis Skidmore, 1929 from Baird’s pocket gopher, Geomys mericanu, and Llano pocket gopher, Geomys texensis Merriam, 1895 collected from Texas.

Dronen et al. (1994) described Monoecocestus centroovarium found in Attwater’s pocket gopher, Geomys attwateri Merriam, 1895 collected from Atascosa County, Texas. In the same year, Wilber et al. (1994) described Eimeria jemezi found in the Northern pocket gopher, Thomomys talpoides collected from El Cajete crater, Jemez Springs, Sandoval County, New Mexico.

Lamothe-Argumedo et al. (1997) reported Paraspidodera merican Travassos, 1914 from the intestine of Merriam’s pocket gopher, Cratogeomys merriami (Thomas, 1893) first collected from Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1984.

Pitts et al. (2000) reported the additional occurrence of the filarioid nematode, Litomosoides westi from the pleural cavities of Baird’s pocket gopher, Geomys mericanu collected at the entrance of Isle, Du Boris unit, Lake Ray Roberts State Park, Denton County, Texas while L. westi was also documented from the pleural cavities of the Plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius captured near Aubrey, Grubbs Road, same county.

Bartel and Gardner (2000) reported the helminth parasites from the Plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius, from seven localities in the northern boundary range, Minnesota. The report includes the following: Physaloptera limbata Leidy, 1856 from the stomach, Ransomus rodentorum from the cecum and large intestine and Calodium (syn. Capillaria) mericanum (Read, 1949), Anoplocephaloides infrequens, A. variabilis (Douthitt, 1915), Andrya macrocephala, Hymenolepis weldensis Gardner & Schmidt, 1988 and Moniliformis clarki from the small intestines.

Falcón-Ordaz et al. (2006) described Vexillata geomyos from Attwater’s pocket gopher, Geomys attwateri from the Welder Wildlife Refuge of San Patricio County, Texas.

Using molecular methods, Haukisalmi et al. (2010) documented Hymenolepis weldensis from Geomys bursarius collected from Illinois and Indiana.

Makarikov et al. (2012) described Arostrilepis schilleri obtained from the Camas pocket gopher, Thomomys bulbivorus, captured southeast of Corvallis, Oregon and originally reported as H. horrida by Gardner (1985).

LeBrasseur (2017) in an unpublished master’s thesis reported a study focused on the endoparasites of four species of pocket gophers in the genus Geomys collected from eight counties in Texas. These host species included the Plains pocket gopher, Geomys bursarius, Attwater’s pocket gopher, G. attwateri Merriam, 1895, Texas pocket gopher, G. personatus True, 1889, and the Central Texas pocket gopher G. texensis Merriam, 1895. In addition, she found an unidentified Hymenolepis Weinland, 1858 obtained from G. attwateri, G. bursarius, and G. texensis and another tapeworm, Monoecocestus was obtained from G. bursarius¸ and G. texensis. Finally, a nematode species, Protospirura ascaroidea, was found from all four species of Geomys mentioned above; the specimens were verified by HWML personnel (LeBrasseur 2017).

Gardner et al. (2020) described two new species of unarmed hymenolepidid tapeworms, including Hobergia irazuensis from the small intestine of Heterogeomys heterodus (Peters, 1865), collected from Potrero Cerrado, Cartago, Costa Rica, and Hymenolepis cratogeomyos from the small intestine of the Volcán De Toluca pocket gopher, Cratogeomys planiceps (Merriam, 1895) collected from Parque Nacional Nevado de Toluca, México. Also, H. weldensis Gardner & Schmidt, 1988 has been documented from many individuals of Geomys lutescens Merriam, 1890 collected in the Sandhills, on the north side of the North Platte River near Cedar Point Biological Station in western Nebraska.

The present study reports an unidentified Monoecocestus sp. Beddard, 1914 (probably M. anoplocephaloides) from the small intestine of the Yellow-faced pocket gopher, Cratogeomys castanops (Baird, 1852), collected by a local landowner from Black Mesa, Oklahoma in 2016 (NP2779). Anoplocephaloides variabilis (Douthitt, 1915) was found from the small intestine of Hall’s pocket gopher, Geomys jugossicularis Hooper, 1940 collected from Grama grass habitat, Keith County, Nebraska in 2016 (NP2661). Also, from 2009–2016, necropsies of Geomys lutescens Merriam, 1890 yielded many individuals of Litomosoides westi Gardner & Schmidt, 1986 from their abdominal cavities with individuals of Ransomus rodentorum from the cecum, and from two pocket gophers Physaloptera limbata Leidy, 1856 was found (NP2297, NP2298). Also, during general collecting in the area of Nebraska, we found two nematode species (R. rodentorum, and T. fossor – refer to NP1524) from the cecum of the Wyoming pocket gopher, Thomomys clusius Coues, 1875, collected from 5 miles east of Woods Landing, Albany County, Wyoming in 2013. All specimens mentioned in this work are deposited in the HW Manter Laboratory of Parasitology Museum collection where NP refers to the field collection number.