| Cheesman's gerbil | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Gerbillus |
| Species: | G. cheesmani |
| Binomial name | |
| Gerbillus cheesmani Thomas, 1919 | |
Cheesman's gerbil (Gerbillus cheesmani) is a small rodent in the subfamily Gerbillinae of the family Muridae. [2] It is distributed mainly in Arabian Peninsula to southwestern Iran. It has orange-brown fur, white underparts, large eyes and a very long tail.
Cheesman's gerbil was first described by the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas in 1919. It was named in honour of its discoverer, the British military officer, explorer and ornithologist Robert Ernest Cheesman who collected it while on an exploratory expedition in Saudi Arabia. [3]
This gerbil is similar in appearance to the lesser Egyptian gerbil (Gerbillus gerbillus) and Anderson's gerbil (Gerbillus andersoni). It has a head-and-body length of between 70 and 110 mm (2.8 and 4.3 in) and a tail of between 90 and 135 mm (3.5 and 5.3 in), and like them, the soles of the feet are hairy. The dorsal pelage is orange-brown and the underparts are white. [4]
Cheesman's gerbil is native to the Arabian Peninsula and the Middle East. Its range includes Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Jordan. [1] Its natural habitat is arid plains with sandy soils, deserts and sabkha, flat coastal salt pans. it is often found in areas in which Haloxylon , Calligonum , Ephedra alata and Artemisia grow. [1]
This is a nocturnal species, spending the heat of the day in a burrow and emerging at night to forage for seeds and grasses, although it may become omnivorous in some circumstances. The hair on the soles of the feet is one adaptation it has for running across sand, and it can also make long leaps. By feeding at night it is able to make use of the dew on plants and it can conserve moisture by producing dry faeces and very little urine. It carries damp vegetation to its burrow which raises the humidity level inside. The burrow entrance is often at the base of a shrubby plant, and the gerbil closes the entrance when it enters by flicking sand across with its tail. It is preyed on by predators such as owls, the Arabian red fox and Rüppell's fox. [5]
G. cheesmani is a common species, has a wide range and is presumed to have a large total population. The population trend seems to be stable and no particular threats to the animal have been identified. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". [1]
Gerbillinae is one of the subfamilies of the rodent family Muridae and includes the gerbils, jirds, and sand rats. Once known as desert rats, the subfamily includes about 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all of which are adapted to arid habitats. Most are primarily active during the day, making them diurnal, and almost all are omnivorous.
The Berbera gerbil is distributed mainly in Somalia, but its range may extend into Ethiopia and Djibouti. It is endemic to the Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands ecoregion.
Wagner's gerbil is a gerbil that is native mainly to the Nile Delta, Israel, the Sinai, Syria, Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula. It also referred to as the rough-tailed dipodil or Wadi Hof gerbil. They are solo, burrowing mammals that are nocturnally active.
The Balochistan gerbil or dwarf gerbil, is distributed mainly from Morocco across north Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, and western Asia. This is a common species with a wide distribution which faces no obvious threats, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The lesser Egyptian gerbil is a small species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is native to North Africa and the Sinai Peninsula, where it lives in sandy habitats. It is a common species, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The greater Egyptian gerbil is a small rodent in the family Muridae. It is native to northern Africa where it inhabits sandy deserts, semi-arid areas and oases. It is a common species, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
Tarabul's gerbil is a species of small rodent which is found in arid regions of north western Africa.
The pale gerbil is endemic to Egypt and is distributed mainly in the northwestern part of the country. It is also known as the pallid gerbil. The pale gerbil has pale orange fur, with white underparts, white forelimbs and white feet. The ears are unpigmented and the soles of the feet are haired, which is a characteristic of sand-dwelling gerbils.
Major Robert Ernest Cheesman CBE was an English military officer, explorer, ornithologist and author. He is noted for being one of the first to map the Arabian coast and credited with the discovery of a rodent, named after him, Cheesman's gerbil.
The North African gerbil is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in North Africa where its natural habitats are arable land and rocky areas of the Maghreb, and hot Saharan deserts.
The hairy-footed gerbil is a species of rodent found in Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, temperate shrubland, hot deserts, sandy shores, and urban areas. All members of this genus have hair on the soles of their feet, hence the name. They prefer sandy soil or sandy alluvium with grass, scrub or light woodland cover.
The Namib brush-tailed gerbil or Setzer's hairy-footed gerbil is a species of rodent endemic to Angola and Namibia. Its natural habitats are sandy and gravelly plains. It stays in its burrow by day, emerging at night to feed on arthropods, vegetable matter, and seeds.
The dune hairy-footed gerbil, or the Namib dune gerbil is a species of rodent found only in Namibia. Its natural habitat is temperate desert where it lives in loose sand among sand dunes, feeding opportunistically on arthropods, seeds and green vegetation.
The Libyan jird is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, intermittent saline lakes, hot deserts, and rural gardens.
