Hybrid pocket gophers and some thoughts on the relationship of natural hybrids to the rules of nomenclature and the Endangered Species Act

A population of hybrid pocket gophers of the Geomys bursarius group from central Texas is described in some detail using primarily molecular techniques. The relationship of natural hybrids to provisions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 is discussed, and questions are raised as to how such hybrid populations should be treated under these and related regulations. There is a reasonable probability that the resolution offered by molecular data will document that hybridization such as that observed in this population will become a commonly observed phenomenon. Therefore, in these and other legal documents, there is a need to have the meaning of “hybrid” clearly defined.