Turkey Horse Jumper
| Turkey Horse Jumper | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Scarturus williamsi | ||||||||||||
| ( Thomas , 1897) |
The Turkey Horse Jumper ( Scarturus williamsi ) is a rodent species that occurs in Anatolia , Armenia , the southeast of Georgia , Azerbaijan , the northwest and western Iran and, separately from the rest of the range, also in Lebanon .
features
The animals reach a head trunk length of 10.2 to 14.6 cm, have a 16.7 to 25.5 cm long tail and weigh 54 to 143 g. The rear foot length is 6.1 to 7.4 cm, the ears are 3.8 to 5.1 cm long. The skull is 29.5 to 33.2 mm long ( condylobasal length ) and 21.4 to 24.8 mm wide ( zygomatic arch width ). The dentate area of the maxillary is 6.3 to 7.6 mm long. There is no noticeable gender dimorphism . The head and back are ocher to brownish, the peritoneum is white. The tassel at the end of the long tail is large and three-colored. First a basal light ocher-colored ring 2 cm long, then a 4 cm long black zone and a 2 cm long white tip. The toes of the hind feet are covered with soft white hair at the bottom. The front teeth are white. They protrude slightly. The first premolar is relatively small and only half the size of the third molar . One penis bone is missing. The karyotype of the Turkey horse jumper consists of a chromosome set of 2n = 48 chromosomes (FN = 96).
Habitat and way of life
The Turkey horse jumper occurs in semi-deserts and dry mountain steppes up to heights of around 2500 meters. The biotope of the animals is often characterized by rocks and sand dunes and overgrown with herbaceous vegetation, as well as halophytes from the foxtail and Artemisia family . The animals are nocturnal and usually only become active 1.5 to 2 hours after sunset and return to their earth burrows before sunrise. These are 90 to 200 cm long, 20 to 80 cm deep and end in a chamber with a diameter of 12 to 14 cm. Every now and then, one or two additional tunnels are created as emergency exits.
The turkey horse jumper feeds mainly on insects and seeds, less on green plant components. Seeds form the main part of the diet in autumn, insects and green plants in spring and summer. The animals reproduce from late May to June and August and October. After a gestation period of 25 to 30 days, 2 to 8 young animals are born. Animals held in captivity, whether of the same sex or males and females, are aggressive towards one another when brought together. They fight each other intensely over a period of up to two hours. Then they become peaceful. The fighting can result in serious injuries or even death.
Systematics
The turkey horse jumper was first scientifically described in 1897 by the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas under the name Allactaga williamsi . Later the species was assigned to the genus Allactaga , then Proalactaga , which was finally declared the junior synonym of Scarturus . For some time Scarturus williamsi was also considered a synonym for Scarturus euphraticus . Scarturus williamsi is the sister species of Scarturus aulacotis . No subspecies are distinguished. One in 2016 as Scarturus cf. williamsi allactaga population in the northeastern Iranian described Kopet Dag -Gebirge represents a separate species is whose formal first description is still pending, or is closely related to Scarturus euphraticus caprimulga related.
Danger
The IUCN estimates the population of the Turkey horse jumper as not endangered (least concern).
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier, Thomas E. Lacher Jr. (Eds.): Handbook of the mammals of the world . Volume 7 - Rodents II. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2017, ISBN 978-84-96553-49-1 , pp. 97 .
- ↑ Allactaga williamsi in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2016 Posted by: Eken, G., Bozdogan, M. & Molur, S., 2016. Retrieved on 30 March. 2020.