| Kozlov's pygmy jerboa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Dipodidae |
| Genus: | Salpingotus |
| Subgenus: | Salpingotus Vinogradov, 1922 |
| Species: | S. kozlovi |
| Binomial name | |
| Salpingotus kozlovi Vinogradov, 1922 | |
Kozlov's pygmy jerboa (Salpingotus kozlovi) is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in northwestern China and southern and eastern Mongolia. Its natural habitat is temperate desert.
Kozlov's pygmy jerboa is a very small rodent with a relatively large head and a very long tail; it has a head-and-body length of 43 to 56 mm (1.7 to 2.2 in) and a tail length of 119 to 126 mm (4.7 to 5.0 in) and its weight is between 7 and 12 g (0.2 and 0.4 oz). The fur is silky, the upper parts are sandy-grey with the bases of the hairs yellowish-grey, the flanks are rather paler and the underparts white or yellowish. The hind feet have three toes and dense pads of long hair on the soles. The tail is scantily clad with long hairs and has a tufted, dark-coloured tip. [2]
Kozlov's pygmy jerboa is native to southern and eastern Mongolia, and northwestern China, in the provinces of Gansu, Nei Mongol, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Xinjiang. [1] Its natural habitat is sandy desert and semi-desert, often with scrubby saxaul (Haloxylon ammodendron) and tamarix. [2]
The ecology of Kozlov's pygmy jerboa is not well known. It lives in a burrow and is mainly nocturnal, emerging at dusk to feed on seeds, green plant matter, spiders and insects. Breeding takes place in April and May and the litter size averages three to five young. [1]
Kozlov's pygmy jerboa has a wide range and is a common species in suitable habitat. The population trend is not known but it is presumed to have a large total population and is present in several protected areas. No specific threats to this jerboa have been identified, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern". [1]
Jerboas are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia, and are members of the family Dipodidae. They tend to live in hot deserts.
The Eastern Gobi desert steppe is a deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion in Mongolia and northern China. It is the easternmost of the ecoregions that make up the larger Gobi Desert. It lies between the more humid Mongolian–Manchurian grassland on the north, east, and southeast, and the drier Alashan Plateau semi-desert to the west.
Dipodoidea is a superfamily of rodents, also known as dipodoids, found across the Northern Hemisphere. This superfamily includes over 50 species among the 16 genera in 3 families. They include the jerboas, jumping mice, and birch mice. Different species are found in grassland, deserts, and forests. They are all capable of saltation, a feature that is most highly evolved in the desert-dwelling jerboas.
The genus Allactaga contains the five-toed jerboas of Asia. They are small mammals belonging to the order of rodents. They are characteristically known as the hopping rodents of the desert and semi-arid regions. They have long hind feet, short forelimbs, and walk upright. They have large ears in comparison to their body size and a large tail. The tail assists and serves as support when the jerboa is standing upright. The jerboa body length ranges from 5–15 cm and has a tail ranging from 7–25 cm. The "forelimbs of the jerboa serve as a pair of hands for feeding, grooming, etc." Jerboas use their nose to burrow and push the dirt when looking for food. The male jerboa is usually larger in size and weight in comparison to the female jerboa. The pelt of the jerboa is either silky or velvety in texture and light in color, the coloration helps camouflage into surroundings to avoid predators. All members of the genus have five toes.
The long-eared jerboa is a nocturnal mouse-like rodent with a long tail, long hind legs for jumping, and exceptionally large ears. It is distinct enough that authorities consider it to be the only member of both its genus, Euchoreutes, and subfamily, Euchoreutinae.
The Balikun jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in arid areas of northwestern China and Mongolia. It eats green plants, plant roots, seeds, grasshoppers and beetles.
The Gobi jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in China and Mongolia. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and temperate desert.
The five-toed pygmy jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is monotypic within the genus Cardiocranius. It is found in China, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia.
The northern three-toed jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is the only extant species within the genus Dipus. It ranges across Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, China and Mongolia. A common species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature rates it as being of "least concern".
Blanford's jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is native to Central Asia and is found in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.
The greater Egyptian jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and is possibly extinct in the Negev Desert of Israel. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland, sandy shores, and arable land.
The thick-tailed pygmy jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in China, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and temperate desert. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is listed by the IUCN as being "least concern".
Salpingotus is a genus of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It contains the following species:
The Baluchistan pygmy jerboa or dwarf three-toed jerboa, is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is the only species in the genus Salpingotulus. Adults average only 4.3 cm (1.7 in) in head and body length, with the tail averaging 8 cm (3.1 in). Adult females weigh 3.2 g (0.11 oz). It is currently considered to be endemic to Pakistan. In the 1999 Guinness Book of Records, it was listed as tied for the smallest rodent in the world with the northern pygmy mouse.
The pale pygmy jerboa or pallid pygmy jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae endemic to Kazakhstan.
Thomas's pygmy jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is endemic to Afghanistan. Its natural habitat is temperate desert. This species is known only from the type specimen and lately is synonymized with Baluchistan pygmy jerboa due to conspecifity.
Andrews's three-toed jerboa, or the Mongolian jerboa, is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in China and Mongolia.
The thick-tailed three-toed jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in China, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Its typical habitat is steppe, desert and mountain grassland where it is often found among saltbush and Artemisia in sandy or clayey soils.
Cardiocraniinae is a subfamily of rodents in the family Dipodidae, named by the Russian zoologist Boris Stepanovich Vinogradov (1891–1958) in 1925. These jumping rodents are small mammals, less than 20 cm long.
