Three-toed jumpers
| Three-toed jumpers | ||||||||||||
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| Salpingotus | ||||||||||||
| Vinogradov , 1922 |
Three-toed jumpers ( Salpingotus ) are a genus of jerboa with five species that occur in Central Asia . There they are in sandy deserts with isolated plants.
These rodents reach a head-trunk length of 4 to 6 cm and a tail length of 9 to 12 cm. It is characterized by three toes on the 2 to 2.5 cm long feet of the hind limbs. The soles are covered with tufts of hair. In some species the tail is thickened. Salpingotus kozlovi and Salpingotus heptneri also have a tassel on the tail end. In contrast to various other jerboa, three-toed dwarf jumpers have an upper premolar in each half of the jaw. The fur is light brown to sand colored on the back and light yellow on the belly.
The way of life of the animals is still quite unexplored and is mainly known for the thick-tailed three-toed gerbil ( Salpingotus crassicauda ). They dig tunnels that can be up to 3 m long. Small animals and various parts of plants serve as food. Females can mate twice a year. An average of 2.7 pups are born per litter.
Wilson & Reeder (2005) list five species in the genus.
- Thick-tailed three-toed gerbil ( Salpingotus crassicauda ), southern Mongolia , northern China, and eastern Kazakhstan .
- Heptner's three-toed gerbil ( Salpingotus heptneri ), Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
- Kozlov three-toed gerbil ( Salpingotus kozlovi ), Mongolia and China.
- Pale three-toed gerbil ( Salpingotus pallidus ), Kazakhstan in the area of the Aral Sea .
- Salpingotus thomasi , Afghanistan and Tibet .
Older works also include the Baluchistan harvest mouse ( Salpingotulus michaelis ) among the three-toed jumpers, which today is mostly in its own genus.
Due to the inadequate research into these animals, almost all species are listed by the IUCN with “insufficient data” ( data deficient ), only Salpingotus kozlovi is considered “not endangered” ( least concern ).
Reference literature
- Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. 2 volumes. 6th edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 1999, ISBN 0-8018-5789-9 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Ronald M. Nowak: Walker's Mammals of the World. Volume 2. 6th edition. 1999, p. 1334, Google books .
- ↑ Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Ed.): Mammal Species of the World . A taxonomic and geographic Reference . 3. Edition. 2 volumes. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 (English, Salpingotus ).
- ↑ a b c Salpingotus in the IUCN 2012 Red List of Threatened Species . Retrieved May 28, 2013.