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 Iranian jerboa is a rodent of the family Dipodidae and subfamily Allactaginae. They are characteristically known as hopping rodents and have only been found in a small population in Iran. Iranian jerboa are microhabitat specialist, they require a particular environment to provide them with specific conditions suitable for living.
The Mongolian five-toed jerboa or Siberian jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It is the most widespread member of the subgenus Orientallactaga.
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 comb-toed jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is monotypic within the genus Paradipus. It is found in Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Pygeretmus is a genus of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It contains the following species:
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".
Heptner's pygmy jerboa is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is native to temperate deserts in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and possibly Russia. The species is named after Vladimir Geptner.
Kozlov's pygmy jerboa 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.
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.
Stylodipus is a genus of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It contains the following species:
Allactaginae is a subfamily of rodents.
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.
