Brine bilch
| Brine bilch | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Selevinia betpakdalensis on a Kazakh postage stamp (1993) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Selevinia | ||||||||||||
| Belosludov & Bashanov , 1939 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Selevinia betpakdalaensis | ||||||||||||
| Belosludov & Bashanov , 1939 |
The saltwort bilch or desert dormouse ( Selevinia betpakdalaensis ) is a species of rodent . Formerly regarded as the only member of its own family (Seleviniidae), today it is incorporated into the family of dormouse (Gliridae), the most famous representative of which is the dormouse .
description
It reaches a head-trunk length of seven to eight and a half centimeters and a tail length of seven to nine and a half centimeters. Its fur is long and gives the impression that the animal is plump, almost fat. The top of the body is gray and the bottom is whitish. The tail has very little hair, which is thin and very short. There are four toes on the front feet and five on the back feet. The ears are large and round.
distribution
Brine bilks live in the Betpak-dala desert in Kazakhstan . It is very dry there and there is a high salt content in the soil, which is why only a few plants grow there, such as wormwood and various grasses .
Way of life
It is assumed that the Salzkrautbilch leads a nomadic life in summer and therefore has no permanent earthwork. In winter, however, it hibernates in dug burrows. The diet seems to consist mostly of insects and other invertebrates. The plants in its habitat seem to make up only a small part of the diet. Mating occurs in early summer. The female then gives birth to up to eight young.
literature
- Lexikon-Institut Bertelsmann (Hrsg.): The modern animal dictionary. In 12 volumes. Volume 9: Roh - Seeg. Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 1981, ISBN 3-570-06789-0 , p. 96: Salzkrautbilch.
- Philip Whitfield (ed.): The great world empire of the animals. 2000 mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians at a glance. Marshall, London 1992, ISBN 3-8247-8614-1 , p. 180.
- 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 .
Web links
- Selevinia betpakdalaensis inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.1. Posted by: Tsytsulina, K., 2008. Retrieved October 15, 2013.