Dipus

Dipus Temporal range: Miocene - Recent
Northern three-toed jerboa (Dipus sagitta)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Rodentia
Family:	Dipodidae
Tribe:	Dipodini
Genus:	Dipus Zimmermann, 1780
Type species
Mus sagitta Pallas, 1773
Species
Dipus sagitta Dipus deasyi † Dipus conditor † Dipus essedum † Dipus fraudator † Dipus singularis

Dipus, meaning "two foot" in Ancient Greek, is a genus of jerboa. Today only a single species is usually recognized, the northern three-toed jerboa (Dipus sagitta), widespread throughout Central Asia. Some authors recognize a second species, the Qaidam three-toed jerboa (Dipus deasyi) from the Qaidam Basin of western China. ^[1] The genus has a fossil record that dates back to the Miocene, with several extinct species known from Asia. ^{[2] [3]} The oldest dated species is Dipus conditor .

References

1. Cheng, Jilong; Ge, Deyan; Xia, Lin; Wen, Zhixin; Zhang, Qian; Lu, Liang; Yang, Qisen (2018). "Phylogeny and taxonomic reassessment of jerboa, Dipus (Rodentia, Dipodinae), in inland Asia". Zoologica Scripta. 47 (6): 630–644. doi:10.1111/zsc.12303. S2CID   92269183 . Retrieved 12 January 2024.
2. Zazhigin, V.; Lopatin, A.V. (2001). "The History of the Dipodoidea (Rodentia, Mammalia) in the Miocene of Asia: 4. Dipodinae at the Miocene-Pliocene Transition". Paleontological Journal. 35 (1): 60–74.
3. Wu, Wen-Yu (2017). Late Cenozoic Yushe Basin, Shanxi Province, China: Geology and Fossil Mammals Volume II: Small Mammal Fossils of Yushe Basin. Springer Netherlands. p. 85. ISBN   9789402410501.