Great gerbil

Great gerbil
	Great gerbil ( Rhombomys opimus )
Systematics
Family :	Long-tailed mice (Muridae)
Subfamily :	Gerbils (Gerbillinae)
Tribe :	Gerbillini
Sub tribus :	Rhombomyina
Genre :	Rhombomys
Type :	Great gerbil
Scientific name of the genus
	Rhombomys
	Wagner , 1841
Scientific name of the species
	Rhombomys opimus
	( Lichtenstein , 1823)

The great gerbil ( Rhombomys opimus ) is the largest species of gerbils in the rodents (Rodentia). It is common in large parts of Asia and lives mainly in deserts and semi-desert areas. The animals live in colonies and build large tunnel systems with nest and storage chambers that can reach up to 2.5 meters into the ground. They feed on plant materials, which they collect and store in underground storage rooms or large piles of plants.

features

The gerbil reaches a head-trunk length of about 15 to 18.5 centimeters and is thus the largest species within the gerbil. At 13 to 16 centimeters, the tail is about as long as the body and the animals weigh around 179 to 275 grams. The fur on the back is ocher and light gray, although it is darker in the area of the torso and lighter on the shoulders. The peritoneum and chin are matt white. The tail is rust-brown both above and below and interspersed with longer black hair. The ears are 12 to 19 millimeters in length and are densely hairy.

The skull has a total length of 3.9 to 4.5 centimeters. It is significantly stronger than the skull of the racing rats ( Meriones ). The snout (rostrum) is blunt and the tympanic bladder is not clearly flattened. Further specific characteristics of the species concern the shape of the teeth and the facial bones.

distribution

The gerbil is distributed over a large area in Asia from Iran to Central Asia , western South Asia to the People's Republic of China and Mongolia . In Iran as well as in Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan , the species is widespread, while the range is smaller in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan . In South Asia, the species occurs in northern Afghanistan and western Pakistan in the Balochistan Province . In China, the gerbil lives in the provinces of Xinjiang , Nei Mongol , Gansu and Ningxia . In Mongolia, the species is known from the deserts and steppe areas around the Gobi desert , with the northern limit of distribution being marked by the southern Altai .

Way of life

Great gerbil colony

Large gerbils at an entrance to their burrow

The gerbil lives mainly in desert and semi-desert areas, especially in dry river beds with scrub vegetation. It is diurnal, with the main activity taking place at dawn. The animals build large tunnel systems that consist of long and deep corridors, nests and storage rooms. The entrance holes are large and, especially in winter, the nest chambers can be up to 2.5 meters below the ground. They live in families and several families can live together in a cave system, although the animals behave territorially towards other conspecifics and other species. On the other hand, a single family can occupy several buildings. The gerbils are often socialized with other gerbils.

The animals feed mainly on succulent shrubbery plants such as salt herbs ( salsola ). The plant parts are often stored underground in the storage chambers, but the animals also carry them together into piles of plants with a diameter of two to three meters and a height of up to one meter. By searching for food, the vegetation can be reduced very quickly in the region, which means that the animals are viewed and controlled as pests in some areas.

Reproduction can take place all year round, with the highest mating activity and most litters occurring in summer. The litter size of a female is one to 14 young animals, usually 4 to 7.

The gerbil's predators include various predators , including foxes such as the steppe fox ( Vulpes corsac ). When threatened, the gerbils utter alarm calls and drum their hind legs on the ground.

Systematics

The gerbil is the only species of the genus Rhombomys, which is monotypical with it, within the gerbil (Gerbillinae). It was first scientifically described by Martin Lichtenstein in 1823 and assigned to the current genre by Wagner in 1841 . While Wilson & Reeder did not specify any subspecies in 2005, Smith & Yan Xie listed four subspecies for the range in the People's Republic of China in 2009 alone.

Hazard and protection

The species is listed as not endangered ( least concern ) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) due to the large distribution area and the assumed large population numbers and the assumption that the population is not declining . There are no threats to the entire population of the species, but locally it could be threatened by habitat changes due to overgrazing by the increasing number of grazing animals. The drying up of water holes and droughts also pose further risks, although it is unclear whether these are natural or man-made.

literature

Darrin Lunde , Andrew T. Smith , Robert S. Hoffmann : Great Gerbil. In: Andrew T. Smith, Yan Xie (Eds.): A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , pp. 251-252.

Web links

Commons : Great gerbil ( Rhombomys opimus ) - Collection of images, videos, and audio files

Rhombomys opimus inthe IUCN 2012 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: S. Shar, D. Lkhagvasuren, S. Molur, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2013.

supporting documents

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Darrin Lunde, Andrew T. Smith, Robert S. Hoffmann: Great Gerbil. In: Andrew T. Smith, Yan Xie (Eds.): A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , pp. 251-252.

↑ ^a ^b Rhombomys opimus ( Memento of the original from March 31, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 . @1@ 2

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Rhombomys opimus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.2. Posted by: S. Shar, D. Lkhagvasuren, S. Molur, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2013.

^ Howard O. Clark, James D. Murdoch, Darren P. Newman, Claudio Sillero-Zubiri: Vulpes corsac (Carnivora: Canidae) . In: Mammalian Species . No. 832 , 2008, p. 1–8 ( full text [PDF; 525 kB ]). Full text, (PDF; 525 kB) ( Memento of the original from April 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2

[Smith_&_Yan_Xie_2009-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Darrin Lunde, Andrew T. Smith, Robert S. Hoffmann: Great Gerbil. In: Andrew T. Smith, Yan Xie (Eds.): A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2008, ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 , pp. 251-252.

[Wilson_&_Reeder_2005-2] Rhombomys opimus ( Memento of the original from March 31, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . In: Don E. Wilson , DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Mammal Species of the World. A taxonomic and geographic Reference. 2 volumes. 3. Edition. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2005, ISBN 0-8018-8221-4 . @1@ 2

[IUCN-3] Rhombomys opimus in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012.2. Posted by: S. Shar, D. Lkhagvasuren, S. Molur, 2008. Retrieved March 17, 2013.