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Wikipedia
Jerboa
The jerboa (from Arabic جربوع jarbūʕ) form the bulk of the membership of the family Dipodidae. Jerboas are hopping desert rodents found throughout Northern Africa and Asia east to northern China and Manchuria.[1] They tend to be found in hot deserts.[1]
They look like kangaroos due to having many similarities such as long hind legs, very short forelegs, and long tails. Jerboas move around their environment the same way a kangaroo does, which is by hopping. The tail of a jerboa can be longer than its head and body and it is common to see a white cluster of hair at the end of the tail. The tail of a jerboa is used to balance the creature when it is hopping and "as a prop when the jerboa is sitting upright". The fur of a jerboa is fine and is usually the color of sand, this color in most cases matches the environment the jerboa lives in (an example of cryptic coloration).[1][2] Some species of the jerboa family have long ears like a rabbit and others have ears that are short like those of a mouse. Most jerboas are known to eat plants. Some species will eat beetles and other insects they come across, but they can not eat hard seeds. Unlike gerbils, jerboas are not known to store food. When chased, jerboas can run at up to 15 miles per hour.[1] Some species are prey for Little Owls (Athene noctua) in central Asia. Most species of jerboa have excellent hearing which allows them to avoid becoming the prey of these nocturnal predators. The typical lifespan of a jerboa is two to three years.[2]
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Behavior
Jerboas are nocturnal.[3] During the heat of the day they shelter in burrows. At night they leave the burrows due to the cooler temperature of their environment. The entrances to their burrow are found near plant life especially along field borders, but during the rainy season their tunnels are in mounds or hills. Building tunnels in these places reduces the risk of flooding. In the summer, jerboas that are occupying a hole plug the entrance to keep out hot air and, as some researchers speculate, predators.[1] In most cases burrows have an emergency exit that ends just below the surface or opens at the surface, but is not strongly obstructed. This allows the jerboa to quickly escape predators. According to the animal diversity web: "Related jerboas often create four different types of burrows. A temporary, summer day burrow is used for cover while hunting during the daylight. They will have a second, temporary burrow used for hunting at night. They will also have two permanent burrows one for summer and one for winter. The permanent summer burrow is actively used throughout the summer and the young are raised there. Jerboas hibernate during the winter and use the permanent winter burrow for this. Temporary burrows are shorter in length than permanent burrows."[2] Jerboas are known to be solitary creatures. Once they reach adulthood, jerboas usually have their own burrow and search for food on their own, not in groups. However, occasional "loose colonies" may be formed, whereby "some species of jerboa dig communal burrows which offer extra warmth when it is cold outside".[1]
Communication and perception
"Many species within the family Dipodidae participate in dust bathing. Dust bathing is often a way to use chemical communication. Their keen hearing suggests they may use sounds or vibrations to communicate."[2]
Reproduction
"Mating systems of closely related species in the family Dipodidae suggest that they may be polygynous. For some closely related jerboa species mating usually happens a short time after awaking from winter hibernation. A female will breed twice during the summer season and raise between 2 to 6 young. Gestation time is between 25 and 35 days. Little is known about parental investment in long-eared jerboas. Like most mammals, females nurse and care for their young at least until they are weaned."[2]
Classification
- ORDER Rodentia
- Family Dipodidae
- Subfamily Zapodinae: jumping mice, 4 species in 3 genera
- Subfamily Sicistinae: birch mice
- Subfamily Cardiocraniinae
- Subfamily Dipodinae
- Dipus
- Eremodipus
- Lichtenstein's Jerboa, Eremodipus lichensteini
- Jaculus
- Stylodipus
- Subfamily Euchoreutinae
- Subfamily Allactaginae
- Allactaga
- Balikun Jerboa, Allactaga balikunica
- Gobi Jerboa, Allactaga bullata
- Small Five-toed Jerboa, Allactaga elater
- Euphrates Jerboa, Allactaga euphratica
- Iranian Jerboa, Allactaga firouzi
- Hotson's Jerboa, Allactaga hotsoni
- Great Jerboa, Allactaga major
- Severtzov's Jerboa, Allactaga severtzovi
- Mongolian Five-toed Jerboa, Allactaga sibirica
- Four-toed Jerboa, Allactaga tetradactyla
- Vinogradov's Jerboa, Allactaga vinogradovi
- Bobrinski's Jerboa, Allactodipus bobrinskii
- Pygeretmus
- Allactaga
- Subfamily Paradipodinae
References
- ^ a b c d e f Maurice Burton; Robert Burton (1970). The international wildlife encyclopedia. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 1323–. ISBN 978-0-7614-7266-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=2wwBy1pEw5wC&pg=PA1323.
- ^ a b c d e Swanson, N.; Yahnke, C. (2007). "Euchoreutes naso". Animal Diversity Web. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Euchoreutes_naso.html. Retrieved 04 January 2012.
- ^ Britannica Educational Publishing (1 January 2011). Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. The Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 8–. ISBN 978-1-61530-414-1. http://books.google.com/books?id=rLZQrmRQafcC&pg=PA8. Retrieved 4 January 2012.
Source:
Wikipedia
Unreviewed
Dipodidae
The Dipodidae, or dipodids, are a family of rodents found across the northern hemisphere. This family includes over 50 species among the 16 genera. They include the jerboas, jumping mice, and birch mice. Different species are found in grassland, deserts, and forests. They are all capable of saltation (jumping while in a bipedal stance), a feature that is most highly evolved in the desert-dwelling jerboas.
Characteristics
Dipodids are small to medium sized rodents, ranging from 4 to 26 cm (1.6 to 10 in) in body length, excluding the tail. They are all adapted for jumping, although to varying degrees. The jerboas have very long hind legs which, in most species, include cannon bones. They move either by jumping, or by walking on their hind legs. The jumping mice have long feet, but lack the extreme adaptations of the jerboas, so that they move by crawling or making short hops, rather than long leaps. Both jerboas and jumping mice have long tails to aid their balance. Birch mice have shorter tails and feet, but they, too, move by jumping.[1]
Most dipodids are omnivorous, with a diet consisting of seeds and insects. Some species of jerboa, however, such as Allactaga sibirica, are almost entirely insectivorous. Like other rodents, they have gnawing incisors separated from the grinding cheek teeth by a gap, or diastema. The dental formula for dipodids is:
| Dentition |
|---|
| 1.0.0-1.3 |
| 1.0.0-1.3 |
Jerboas and birch mice make their nests in burrows, which, in the case of jerboas, may be complex, with side-chambers for storage of food. In contrast, while jumping mice sometimes co-opt the burrows of other species, they do not dig their own, and generally nest in thick vegetation. Most species hibernate for at least half the year, surviving on fat that they build up in the weeks prior to going to sleep.[1]
Dipodids give birth to litters of between two and seven young after a gestation period of between 17 and 42 days. They breed once or twice a year, depending on the species.
Classification
FAMILY Dipodidae
- Subfamily Sicistinae, Birch mice
- Genus Sicista
- Armenian Birch Mouse, Sicista armenica
- Northern Birch Mouse, Sicista betulina
- Caucasian Birch Mouse, Sicista caucasica
- Long-tailed Birch Mouse, Sicista caudata
- Chinese Birch Mouse, Sicista concolor
- Kazbeg Birch Mouse, Sicista kazbegica
- Kluchor Birch Mouse, Sicista kluchorica
- Altai Birch Mouse, Sicista napaea
- Gray Birch Mouse, Sicista pseudonapaea
- Severtzov's Birch Mouse, Sicista severtzovi
- Strand's Birch Mouse, Sicista strandi
- Southern Birch Mouse, Sicista subtilis
- Tien Shan Birch Mouse, Sicista tianshanica
- Genus Sicista
- Subfamily Zapodinae, Jumping mice
- Subfamily Allactaginae
- Genus Allactaga
- Subgenus Allactaga
- Subgenus Orientallactaga
- Subgenus Paralactaga
- Subgenus Scarturus
- incertae sedis
- Allactaga toussi
- Genus Allactodipus
- Genus Pygeretmus, Fat-tailed Jerboas
- Genus Allactaga
- Subfamily Cardiocraniinae
- Genus Cardiocranius
- Genus Salpingotulus
- Genus Salpingotus, Pygmy Jerboas
- Subfamily Dipodinae
- Tribe Dipodini
- Genus Dipus
- Genus Eremodipus
- Genus Jaculus
- Genus Stylodipus, Three-toed Jerboas
- Tribe Paradipodini
- Tribe Dipodini
- Subfamily Euchoreutinae
- Genus Euchoreutes, Long-eared Jerboa
References
- ^ a b Whitaker, John (1984). Macdonald, D.. ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 682–683. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
- Holden, M. E. and G. G. Musser. 2005. Family Dipodidae. pp. 871–893 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
- Janson, S. & Myers, P.. "Animal Diversity Web: Dipodidae". http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Dipodidae.html. Retrieved 2007-12-02.
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Source:
Wikipedia
Unreviewed
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