Racing rats

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Racing rats
Sundevall racing rat in Israel

Sundevall racing rat in Israel

Systematics
Superfamily : Mice-like (Muroidea)
Family : Long-tailed mice (Muridae)
Subfamily : Gerbils (Gerbillinae)
Tribe : Gerbillini
Sub tribus : Rhombomyina
Genre : Racing rats
Scientific name
Meriones
Illiger , 1811

The racing rats ( Meriones ) are one of the "higher gerbils" ( Rhombomyina ) belonging to the genus of gerbils with around 16 species. They are also known as sand or gerbils and sand or gerbils . Their distribution area extends over the entire desert belt of the Palearctic Region from North Africa to East Asia. The genus Meriones was described by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger in 1811 . Its name is not derived from the hero of the same name from the Iliad, but from the ancient Greek word for the thigh. Some species, such as the Mongolian racing rat, are kept as test animals or pets.

Body features

Proportions

Racing rats like the Sundevall racing rat are similar in size and shape to rats.
The fur of the Mongolian racing rat , like that of other racing rats, is monochrome on the top and lighter on the underside.

The racing rats are similar in size and shape to the rats . Their muzzle is slightly pointed and the eyes are large. The auricles are narrow, unlike the Przewalski racing rat, normal or slightly enlarged and about half as long as the hind paws. If you fold them forward on the head, their tips reach to the eyes, often to the middle. They are only shortened in the Indian desert rat. The tail is about as long as the head and torso and thus shorter than that of the bush-tailed gerbil . The hind legs and paws are slightly elongated and narrow, but the proportions of the toes are normal. The claws of the front paws are usually not enlarged, but in the Indian desert rat they are much wider and longer than usual and in the Mongolian racing rat they are also enlarged. The first toe of the front paws is less shortened than that of hamsters and the claw is always well developed. The bales are small. With their shorter auricles and hind paws, the racing rats appear stockier than the real gerbils . Females of the Persian racing rat, Tristram racing rat, and Sundevall racing rat have eight teats . The head-torso length of the racing rats is 95 to 180 millimeters and the tail length 100 to 193 millimeters. The body weight varies from less than 30 grams in the Sundevall racing rat to over 100 grams in the Persian racing rat.

Skin and fur

The fur of the racing rat is usually very soft, but it is short in the Mongolian racing rat and particularly short and rough in the king rat and the Indian desert rat. The tail is completely hairy. The hairs are short near the base of the tail and grow longer towards the tip of the tail, so that the tail of most species has a tassel and of others a comb. The tassel is always smaller than that of the bush-tailed gerbil, but it is also particularly pronounced in the Persian racing rat. The soles of the hind paws are usually completely hairy in northern species, in some North African species part of the heel is hairless. The soles of the Persian racing rat and the royal racing rat are completely or largely hairless. The paws are also hairless near the ankles. The fur on the upper side is monochrome, the color varies from pale yellow to sandy and grayish to brownish. The sides of the body are usually lighter than the back due to the lack of black-tipped hair. The underside, including the front and rear paws, is white, pale yellow, brown-yellow, or pale gray. Often there are lighter areas on the face. The coat color of different subspecies can match the sand tones of their habitat, as with the midday rat. The navel a scent gland area known to be located navel gland is called.

skull

In the Mongolian racing rat , the tympanic bladders are medium-sized and the supraorbital ridges are weak.

The skull of the racing rats has a typical appearance for gerbils. The back part of the skull is enlarged and the front part of the zygomatic arch is wide. In contrast to the Przewalski racing rat , the racing rat's skull is not triangular when viewed from above , the front part of the skull is shortened and the cheekbone is not widely spread. The constriction between the eye sockets and the skull in the racing rats are also not widened. The lacrimal is unlike the sand rat and the Great Gerbil nearly the same length as wide. Usually the bone ridge is pronounced over the eye sockets. In the midday racing rat, the Mongolian racing rat, the tristram racing rat and the tamarisk racing rat, this bar is poorly developed, but it is particularly strong in the royal racing rat and the larger North African species. As a result, small notches form behind the eye sockets of the royal racing rat. In addition to the bony ridge of the frontal bone, that of the parietal bone is also well developed. The hard palate is comparatively broad and the wing pits of the cuneiform bone are short. The incisor holes are sometimes as long as the molar row and longer than the width of the zygomatic plate. The posterior palatal holes , however, are short or absent. The zygomatic plate is furrowed, but unlike the bare-sole gerbils above, it is usually not directed particularly forward. It measures less than half the length of the side of the face. Above the tooth roots, the upper jaw is slightly arched outwards without the tooth sockets forming any elevations.

The tympanic bubbles usually reach back to the back of the head, but their sizes vary widely. In some species they are comparatively small, in others they are extremely bloated and the wart part is clearly visible in plan view. In between there are many intermediate stages. In the Sundevall racing rat, the tympanic bladders are largest, the wart protrudes conspicuously at the back and the mastoid pit is very large. In the Libyan racing rat, the bloating is usually less extreme and the pit is smaller. In the case of North African forms, there seems to be a possibly individual variation in the size and degree of inflation of the tympanic bladders. In some forms, the tympanic bladders do not hit the back of the zygomatic arch as usual and the mastoid fossa is small. In the midday rat, the wart portion is less pronounced, but the tympanic bladders are greatly inflated, especially in front of the ear canal. In the Mongolian racing rat, the shape and size of the tympanic membranes occupy an intermediate position between those of the midday racing rat and those of the tamarisk racing rat. In the latter, the tympanic membranes are comparatively small and the mastoid pit is rudimentary. The tympani bubbles are smallest in the Tristram racing rat. They are also small in the Indian gerbil, but the mastoid pit is not particularly reduced. The Persian racing rat's drum bladders are about the size of or slightly larger than those of the tamarisk racing rat, and the mastoid pit is medium in size.

The lower jaw is comparatively thin and flattened on the outside. The branches of the mandible are narrow, the articular process is long, and the notch between the articular process and the angular process is deep. The width of the branch of the lower jaw is no more than three quarters of the length of the articular process measured from its rear edge to the notch. In contrast to the gerbil, the tooth socket of the second lower jaw rarely forms a slight elevation on the outside of the lower jaw.

denture

1 · 0 · 0 · 3  =  16
1 · 0 · 0 · 3
The tooth formula of the racing rats corresponds to the original tooth formula of the gerbils.

In contrast to the sand rats and the gerbil , the upper incisor teeth of the racing rats have a longitudinal furrow. In contrast to those of the Przewalski racing rat, the molars have narrow, longitudinal bridges between the tooth strips, which in the first molar, unlike in the bush-tailed gerbil, lie on one axis. The chewing surface of the molar teeth is formed by loops that are created by fusing the opposing tooth cusps. The enamel is undifferentiated and there are no cement deposits in the lateral indentations. The chewing surface is reminiscent of that of voles , the molars are also high-crowned and only have small roots at the end. However, compared to those of the gerbil, these are better developed and the molars do not grow back. In very young animals they are extremely high-crowned and there is no evidence of tooth bumps. The first maxillary molar is divided into three ridges by two inner and two outer lateral indentations. These indentations are opposite and almost touching in the middle of the tooth. The second maxillary molar has an indentation on both sides and the third maxillary molar is simple or rarely with a slight internal indentation. The first mandibular molar has three ridges, the second mandibular molar has two ridges and the third mandibular molar has one ridges. The indentations usually remain in old age.

Body skeleton

The body skeleton of the racing rats is more similar to that of the voles than that of the hamsters . The third rolling mound of the thigh bone is short and high, the neck is narrow, the head is well separated from it and the bone shaft becomes a little flatter from front to back. The humerus has compared to the hamster to a higher tower of the lateral articular bone, an even higher and more facing the beautiful body large bony prominence and a larger small bony prominence. The bones of the forearm, especially the radius , are not as massive and more vertically curved. The tibia is typically sharply s-shaped.

Habitat and way of life

Racing rats are not as strictly nocturnal as other gerbils. The Indian desert rat is even diurnal.
In winter, like some other species of racing rat , the Tristram racing rat spends a long time in its burrow.

habitat

The habitat of racing rats are clay and sandy deserts , scrubland , dry steppes , lowlands , fields , grasslands and valleys in mountains .

Build

Meriones are ground-dwelling and spend time in their dug into soft ground construction . Their complexity varies both internally and between species. Usually the burrows contain several storage chambers near the surface of the earth and one or more nest chambers at greater depth. The nest usually consists of dried plant parts. The burrows of the Persian racing rat, the tamarisk racing rat and the Mongolian racing rat are described as simple, while those of the Azeri racing rat, the midday racing rat and the Libyan racing rat are described as complex. Young specimens of the Sundevall racing rats build a burrow with an entrance that extends at an angle of 15 to 30 degrees to a depth of half a meter. The most complex structures of this type, on the other hand, often reach a total length of 30 to 40 meters and have up to 18 entrances. The tunnels of the Mongolian racing rat, about four centimeters in diameter, extend to a depth of 0.45 to 0.6 meters and the central area of ​​the building has a nest and one or two storage chambers. The burrows of the Libyan racing rat, on the other hand, can be more than 1.5 meters deep and their passage system can wind three to four meters outwards.

activity

The activity time of the racing rats is not as strictly limited to at night as that of the real gerbils. The Persian racing rat and the Sundevall racing rat are described as nocturnal, while the Indian desert racing rat and the Libyan racing rat are diurnal. The Mongolian racing rat is active all year round, day and night. It is also adapted to a wide temperature and humidity range. It is active on the earth's surface in winter at temperatures below zero degrees and in summer at over 38 degrees Celsius and does not sleep either winter or summer. Reports of true hibernation in racing rats could be due to some species staying in their underground burrows for long periods of winter, feeding on their supplies. In this way, the Tristram racing rat can spend up to two months in its den in winter and only feed on its supplies. The Persian racing rat may go starvation during this time .

Food and supplies

Racing rats feed on green parts of plants , roots , bulbs , seeds , grains , fruits and insects . The structure of their molars suggests that they eat more stems and leaves than other gerbils. The Libyan racing rat stores up to ten kilograms of semen in the northern part of its range.

Population density and action space

The population density , in the noon race rat under favorable conditions 5 to 10 animals per hectare in the Sundevall racing rat 11 animals per hectare in the Tamarisken racing rat 20 to 30 animals per hectare, 37 animals per hectare in the Azeri race rat and in the Indian Desert rat rat 477 animals per hectare. The action area of the Sundevall racing rat is given as 1200 to 10,000 square meters. The Libyan racing rat has a diameter of 50 to 120 meters. In the Thar Desert of Rajasthan, the average size of Indian gerbil rats was 88.7 square meters for males and 154.7 square meters for females. While foraging, the animals of this species move up to 20 meters away from their burrow. In the case of the Mongolian racing rat, the daily distances covered in summer can be 1.2 to 1.8 kilometers and a marked animal covered 50 kilometers. Several females of the Libyan racing rat can inhabit a depression that is overgrown with plants and surrounded by desert for many months. The 0.6 to 4.0 hectare action areas hardly or not at all overlap. The comparatively large action spaces of the males, on the other hand, include several of these depressions and overlap over a large area with the action spaces of both the females and other males.

Social structure

The social structure of the racing rats seems to vary considerably both internally and between species. The Libyan racing rat is described as living individually or in colonies, the Sundevall racing rat as living in small colonies and the Persian racing rat as not living in groups. Several adult animals of the Indian gypsy rat sometimes share a burrow, although probably not the same nest chamber. Two or more families of the Azeri racing rat have sometimes been found in one burrow, and the Mongolian racing rat burrows can contain 3 to 14 animals. The comparatively cold winters and short but rich summers of the last glacial period are cited as an explanation for the formation of large colonies and the extensive stockpiling of the racing rats . For example, living in colonies makes it easier to gather enough food, it helps to defend the foraging area from other rodents, and it allows each other to warm up in the nest.

behavior

Racing rats communicate with each other using various sounds and by tapping their hind paws.

Reproduction and development

At two days old, racing rats like the Mongolian racing rat are still naked, blind and deaf.

The racing rats can reproduce all or most of the year, but they usually reproduce from late winter to early autumn. The number of litters is usually two or three, the gestation period is 20 to 31 days, and the litter size is one to twelve pups. The female can be ready to mate again immediately after birth ( postpartum oestrus ). Females of the Mongolian racing rat and possibly some other species seek out neighboring family groups to mate, but they raise the offspring with their own siblings. In this way, closely related animals can defend the family group and still avoid problems from inbreeding .

The Indian desert rat reproduces all year round, but highlights come in late winter, midsummer and autumn in the Thar desert of Rajasthan. Their sexual cycle lasts an average of 6.22 days, the number of litters is three to four litters per year, the gestation period lasts 28 to 30 days and the litter size is one to nine and an average of 4.4 young animals. These open the eyes after 15 to 16 days, are suckled up to three weeks of age and are sexually mature at 15 weeks . In captivity, the Mongolian racing rat reproduces all year round, but in the wild it breeds from around February to October. Their sexual cycle lasts four to six days, the number of litters is up to three litters per year, the gestation period is given as 26 to 30 days and the litter size is one to twelve and usually four to seven young animals. These weigh about 2.5 grams at birth, open the eyes after 16 to 20 days, are suckled up to an age of 20 to 30 days and are sexually mature at 65 to 85 days. The females can reproduce up to 20 months of age. In nature, however, the average life expectancy is only three to four months. A Sundevall racing rat lived to be five years and seven months old in captivity.

Distribution and Tribal History

Distribution and existence

The range of the racing rats covers the entire desert belt of the Palearctic region from the Atlantic Ocean over the Sahara to western India and Inner Mongolia . They penetrate further north than other gerbils and reach the north of the Caspian Depression , Lake Saissan , Tuwa and Daurien . The center of their distribution, however, is in the Middle East .

The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN classified most racing rats as not endangered in 2008. Only the Armenian racing rat was considered endangered and the Palestine racing rat as endangered. Insufficient data was available for the Sarudny racing rat .

Fossil Distribution

The racing rats are known to be fossilized in particular from the Lower Pleistocene to the Holocene of North Africa , the Lower Pleistocene to the Holocene of Near East and the Holocene of Eastern Europe . The oldest finds come from the Upper Pliocene to Lower Pleistocene in North Africa and in southeastern Turkmenistan . Finds from the lower Pleistocene are known from Israel ; Finds from the middle Pleistocene from Azerbaijan , from the north of the Caspian Depression, from Morocco and Algeria as well as from China ; Finds from the Upper Pleistocene of Kalymnos , from the foothills of the Caucasus , from the north of the Caspian Depression, from Iraq and Iranian Kurdistan as well as from Israel and Syria . From the Holocene there are fossil and subfossil finds from a large part of the current range as well as from East Africa.

Tribal history

According to Pawlinow et al. (1990) the racing rats originated in the Middle East and colonized the desert areas in the lowlands of Turan and in North Africa at an early stage . The main forms of the tamarisk racing rat in the lowlands of Turan and the Persian racing rat in the Iranian highlands initially separated from the other racing rats . On the one hand, both species show some original characteristics and, on the other hand, also signs of high specialization. The other racing rats are characterized by the structure of the male sexual organs, which is a derived characteristic , but it could also be the result of parallel evolution . They separated into several lines of development, the most peculiar of which is that of the Indian gerbil . The other racing rats, on the other hand, seem to be sufficiently uniform in terms of the degree and nature of their specializations to be regarded as representatives of the same subgenus. According to Wessels (1999), the ancestral form of the racing rats could be the fossil genus Pseudomeriones . Their assignment to the gerbils is questionable.

Systematics and nomenclature

External system

The bush-tailed gerbil was also occasionally assigned to the racing rats.

The racing rats ( Meriones ) are a genus of gerbils . They are assigned to the "higher gerbils" ( Rhombomyina ). In addition, these also include the Przewalski's race rat , the sand rats , the great gerbil and sometimes the bush-tailed gerbil . With regard to their degree of specialization, the racing rats occupy a middle position between the bush-tailed gerbil and the sand rats. Their status as a genus and as a closed kinship group ( Monophylum ) was not seriously questioned for a long time, but they were occasionally assigned to the bush-tailed gerbil or the Przewalski racing rat. Morphological comparisons of the male genital organs also gave indications of an isolation of the tamarisk racing rat in the history of the phylogenetic tree . This is therefore to be managed in a separate category.

According to molecular genetic studies of mitochondrial Cyt b - and CO2 genes by Ito and colleagues (2010) the monophyly of the genus Meriones actually doubtful. The tamarisk racing rat could be the sister species of a group that includes the Przewalski racing rat, sand rats, gerbil and the other racing rats studied. According to molecular genetic studies by Chevret and Dobigny (2005), racing rats, sand rats and gerbils separated from each other 5 to 6 million years ago. The high divergence of the tamarisk racing rat from the other racing rats also makes it necessary to classify it as an independent genus. The other racing rats would then have to be renamed according to the rules of the ICZN . The following relationships result:

 Rhombomyina 

Tamarisk racing rat ( Meriones tamariscinus )


   

Przewalski's racing rat ( Brachiones przewalskii )


   

Sand rats ( Psammomys spp.)


   

Great gerbil ( Rhombomys opimus )


   

other racing rats (“ Meriones ” spp.) as far as examined


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Subgenera and species

The Persian racing rat is the only species of the subgenus Parameriones .
The Sundevall racing rat is one of several more closely related species within the subgenus Pallasiomys .
The Mongolian racing rat , on the other hand, represents an isolated line of development within this subgenus.
The noon rat, which is also assigned to the subgenus Pallasiomys , could be divided into several species.
The Indian gerbil is the only species assigned to the subgenus Cheliones .

There is no current systematic processing of racing rats. The latest overview of the genus is the processing by Chaworth-Musters and Ellerman (1947), which was updated by Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951), by Corbet (1978) and by Pawlinow and co-workers (1990). Pawlinow and co-workers (1990) distinguish the following four subgenera and 16  species of racing rats:

  • Subgenus Meriones Illiger, 1811 with the objective younger synonyms Meraeus Billberg, 1827 and Idomeneus Schulze, 1900
    • Tamarisk racing rat , Meriones tamariscinus (Pallas, 1773) from the lower Volga to northwestern China
  • Subgenus Parameriones Heptner, 1937
  • uncertain assignment ( incertae sedis )
    • Royal Racing Rat , Meriones rex Yerbury & Thomas, 1895 in the southwest of the Arabian Peninsula
  • Subgenus Pallasiomys Heptner, 1933
    • Tristram racing rat , Meriones tristrami Thomas, 1892 from Turkey to the South Caucasus, northwest Iran and the Sinai Peninsula
    • Shaw racing rat , Meriones shawi (Duvernoy, 1842) on the Mediterranean coast from Morocco to Egypt
    • Moroccan racing rat , Meriones grandis Cabrera, 1907 on the Mediterranean coast from Morocco to Tunisia
    • Palestine racing rat , Meriones sacramenti Thomas, in 1922 in Israel and on the Sinai Peninsula
    • Sundevall racing rat , Meriones crassus Sundevall, from Morocco to Pakistan in 1842
    • Azeri racing rat , Meriones vinogradovi Heptner, 1931 from northwest Iran to Armenia and northern Syria
    • Libyan racing rat , Meriones libycus Lichtenstein, 1823 from Western Sahara to Xinjiang
    • Arab racing rat , Meriones arimalius Cheesman & Hinton, in the Rub al-Chali in 1924
    • Mongolian racing rat , Meriones unguiculatus (Milne-Edwards, 1867) in Mongolia, northern China and southern Siberia
    • Midday racing rat , Meriones meridianus (Pallas, 1773) from the lower Don to Afghanistan, northern China and Mongolia
    • Armenian race rat , Meriones dahli Shidlovsky, 1962 in Armenia
    • Sarudny racing rat , Meriones zarudnyi Heptner, 1937 in northern Afghanistan and southern Turkmenistan
  • Subgenus Cheliones Thomas, 1919
    • Indian desert rat , Meriones hurrianae (Jerdon, 1867) found in northwest India, Pakistan, and southern Iran

However, a careful systematic revision of the genus is likely to reveal a larger number of species. The sometimes strong similarity between the species and the large number of scientific names with poor descriptions cause great difficulties. In particular, the African forms cannot be distinguished from one another without problems. The racing rats are also assigned the following extinct species:

The four subgenera

Usually the racing rats are divided into three or four sub-genera. Traditionally these are differentiated according to the size of the tympanic membranes and the hairiness of the hind paws, but due to the lack of clear differences, the racing rats are sometimes not divided into subgenera at all. Newer subdivisions are based on cladistic considerations of the structure of the middle ear bones and the male reproductive organs. The four sub-genera Meriones , Parameriones , Pallasiomys and Cheliones distinguished by Pawlinow and co-workers (1990) can also be found in McKenna and Bell (1997), Musser and Carleton (2005), and Pawlinow (2008).

Subgenus Meriones

In traditional systematics, almost all species with small tympanic bubbles and hairy hind paws are assigned to the subgenus Meriones . Thus, in Ellerman and Morrison-Scott (1951), in addition to the tamarisk racing rat, it also includes the tristram racing rat and the Azeri racing rat. Ellerman (1941) even places all species except the Persian racing rat, the king racing rat and the Indian desert racing rat in this subgenus. But also the Persian racing rat and the Indian desert racing rat were partially assigned to the subgenus Meriones . From a cladistic point of view, however, this is to be limited to the tamarisk racing rat, which can be separated from the other racing rats by the structure of the male sexual organs.

Subgenus Parameriones

The subgenus Parameriones , whose originally determined characteristic is the hairless hind paws, seems to be well defined with regard to the Persian racing rat. However, the rear paws of the royal racing rat are also hairless and therefore it is traditionally placed in this subgenus. According to Pavlinow (2008), however, this assignment is not well-founded cladistically. According to molecular genetic studies by Ito and coworkers (2010), the king rat is more closely related to the Sundevall rat, which belongs to the Pallasiomys subgenus .

Subgenus Pallasiomys

The subgenus Pallasiomys is diverse and needs to be revised. The structure of the male sexual organs is considered a derived feature . The types of the sub-genus differ, however, in the construction of the sound conduction apparatus and in the size of the tympanic bubbles. In particular, the eardrum is simple in some species and complex in others. The latter also have a lightly built hammer. According to the studies by Ito and coworkers (2010), the investigated species of this subgenus are divided into three lines of development: 1) the midday rat, 2) the Mongolian racing rat and 3) a group of several closely related species. According to molecular genetic studies by Chevret and Dobigny (2005), these lines separated about 3.67 million years ago. They essentially correspond to the meridianus group, the unguiculatus group and the libycus group by Ellerman (1941). As far as examined, the following relationships emerge:

 M. (Pallasiomys) 

 meridianus group 

Midday rat ( M. meridianus )


 unguiculatus group 

Mongolian racing rat ( M. unguiculatus )



   
 libycus group 

Shaw racing rat ( M. shawi ) and / or Moroccan racing rat ( M. grandis )


   

Libyan racing rat ( M. libycus )


   

Sundevall racing rat ( M. crassus )


   

King rat ( M. rex )







The Moroccan racing rat is assigned by Fichet-Calvet (2013) as a subspecies of the Shaw racing rat. The Cheng racing rat ( Meriones chengi ) Wang, 1964 , is partly regarded as an independent species, but according to the studies by Ito and coworkers (2010) and in agreement with Pawlinow and coworkers (1990) it can be assigned as a synonym of the midday racing rat. On the other hand, some subspecies of the noon rat could be classified as species.

Subgenus Cheliones

Only the Indian desert rat is assigned to the subgenus Cheliones . This has developed common characteristics with the gerbil , presumably due to the similar way of life .

Initial descriptions

The tamarisk racing rat was described in 1773 and is the type species of the genus Meriones .

Meriones was described as a genus by Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger in 1811 . The name is derived from ancient Greek mēros (μηρός "thigh") and should correspond to Gerbillus Desmarest, 1804 . Illiger assigned the genus, which he called the "thigh animal", to the tamarisk racing rat and the midday racing rat. The type species of Meriones is loud Fernand Lataste, William Henry Flower and Vladimir Georgievich Geptner Mus tamariscinus . As a replacement for Meriones , Gustaf Johan Billberg introduced the name Meriaeus in 1827 . However, this is a noun nudum . Erwin Schulze introduced the generic name Idomeneus in 1900. It goes back to the brother-in-arms of Meriones of the same name in the Trojan War. The type species of Idomeneus is also Mus tamariscinus .

For the Indian desert rat , Oldfield Thomas proposed the genus Cheliones in March 1919 . The name was formed analogously to Meriones and derives from ancient Greek chēlē (χηλή "claw, claw"). The type species of Cheliones is Gerbillus hurrianae . Wladimir Georgijewitsch Geptner described the genus Pallasiomys in 1933 . The name is composed of the surname of Peter Simon Pallas and ancient Greek mys (μυς "mouse"). The type species of Pallasiomys is Gerbillus erythrourus . Finally, in 1937, Geptner described the subgenus Parameriones . The name was formed from ancient Greek pará (παρά "next to") and the generic name Meriones . The type species of Parameriones is Gerbillus persicus . Parameriones Tchernov & Chetboun, 1984 is a younger homonym.

Racing rats and humans

There are several fur and color variants of the Mongolian racing rat in captivity .

Some species of racing rats are considered pests that promote the spread of sandy areas ( desertification ) through damage to soil-retaining plants and through their burial activity . They also damage irrigation systems and eat crops . However, the damage to the latter is minor. Other species are important in the spread of epidemics . In their burrows they form biocenoses with invertebrates, which play an essential role as carriers of sometimes dangerous zoonoses .

Several species of racing rats are used for animal testing . The Mongolian racing rat is particularly important . However, Volodin and coworkers (1996) also examined the Libyan race rat that afternoon racing rat , the Azeri racing rat , the Persian race rat and the tamarisks racing rat on their suitability as an experimental animal. The Mongolian racing rat is also kept as a pet , as is the Persian racing rat, the Shaw racing rat , the Sundevall racing rat, and the Tristram racing rat . The midday racing rat also found its way into pets.

In English the racing rats are called tamarisk gerbils , jirds or sand rats . The name jird is derived from Berber gherda and was introduced by Thomas Shaw in 1738 .

Web links

Commons : Meriones  - collection of images, videos and audio files

literature

Used literature

  • Margaret Batchelder, Lynn S. Keller, Mary Ball Sauer, Wanda L. West: Gerbils . In: Mark A. Suckow, Karla A. Stevens, Ronald P. Wilson (Eds.): The Laboratory Rabbit, Guinea Pig, Hamster, and Other Rodents . Academic Press (Elsevier), Amsterdam a. a. 2012, ISBN 978-0-12-380920-9 .
  • Gustaf Johan Billberg: Synopsis faunae Scandinaviae. Tom. 1, Pars 1: Mammalia . Ordo Equestris, Stockholm 1827.
  • Pascale Chevret, Gauthier Dobigny: Systematics and evolution of the subfamily Gerbillinae (Mammalia, Rodentia, Muridae) . In: Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . tape 35 , no. 3 , 2005, p. 674-688 , doi : 10.1016 / j.ympev.2005.01.001 .
  • Gordon Barclay Corbet: The Mammals of the Palaearctic Region: A Taxonomic Review . British Museum (Natural History) / Cornell University Press, London / Ithaca 1978, ISBN 0-8014-1171-8 (corrected reprint from 1980).
  • Christian Ehrlich: Small mammals in the terrarium. Biology, husbandry, breeding . 2nd Edition. Nature and Animal, Münster 2006, ISBN 3-86659-023-7 .
  • John Reeves Ellerman: The Families and Genera of Living Rodents. Volume II: Family Muridae . British Museum (Natural History), London 1941.
  • John Reeves Ellerman, Terence Charles Stuart Morrison-Scott: Checklist of Palaearctic and Indian Mammals . British Museum (Natural History), London 1951.
  • Anja Ewringmann, Barbara Glöckner: Key symptoms in hamsters, rats, mice and gerbils: Diagnostic guidelines and therapy . Enke, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8304-1063-8 .
  • Elisabeth Fichet-Calvet: Genus Meriones : Jirds . In: David CD Happold (Ed.): Mammals of Africa. Volume III: Rodents, Hares and Rabbits . Bloomsbury, London a. a. 2013, ISBN 978-1-4081-2253-2 , pp. 333-335 .
  • Eckhard Grimmberger, Klaus Rudloff, Christian Kern: Atlas of the mammals of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East . Natur- und Tier-Verlag, Münster 2009, ISBN 978-3-86659-090-8 .
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Remarks

  1. ↑ a b c Niethammer, 1988 (p. 256)
  2. ↑ Grimmberger et al., 2009 (p. 162)
  3. ↑ Isenbügel, 1985 (p. 81)
  4. ↑ Ewringmann and Glöckner, 2008 (p. 6)
  5. ↑ Piechocki, 1969 (p. 341)
  6. ^ Schmidt, 1985 (p. 148)
  7. ↑ a b c Niethammer, 1988 (p. 256)
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Gromow and Jerbajewa, 1995 (" Meriones ( Memento from March 22, 2007 in the Internet Archive )")
  9. ↑ a b c d e f Nowak, 1999 (p. 1455)
  10. ↑ a b c d Smith and Hoffman, 2008 (p. 248)
  11. ↑ a b c Gromow and Jerbajewa, 1995 (" Gerbillinae ( Memento from March 20, 2007 in the Internet Archive )")
  12. ↑ a b c d Ellerman, 1941 ( pp. 528-529 )
  13. ↑ a b Qumsiyeh, 1996 ( pp. 251-252 )
  14. ↑ Michael Fehr: Aspects of pet dermatology. In: Small Animal Practice. 37, 1992, pp. 393-401.
  15. ↑ a b c d e Ellerman, 1941 ( p. 525 )
  16. ↑ a b c d e Pawlinow, 2008 (p. 52)
  17. ↑ Ellerman, 1941 ( pp. 527-528 )
  18. ↑ a b Ellerman, 1941 ( pp. 525-527 )
  19. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Nowak, 1999 (p. 1456)
  20. ↑ Kingdon, 1991 (p. 53)
  21. ↑ Kingdon, 1991 (p. 54)
  22. ↑ a b c d Pawlinow and co-workers, 1990 (p. 258)
  23. ↑ a b c Qumsiyeh, 1996 (p. 251)
  24. ^ IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2: Meriones
  25. ↑ a b c d McKenna and Bell, 1997 (p. 159)
  26. ↑ a b c d e f g Musser and Carleton, 2005 (p. 1234, Meriones )
  27. ↑ a b c Pawlinow and co-workers, 1990 (p. 259)
  28. ↑ Wessels, 1999 (p. 397)
  29. ↑ Pavlinow, 2008 (p. 23)
  30. ↑ Pawlinow, 2008 (p. 50)
  31. ↑ a b c d e f g Pawlinow, 2008 (p. 53)
  32. ↑ a b c d Ito and colleagues, 2010 (p. 276)
  33. ↑ Pawlinow and co-workers, 1990 (pp. 259-312)
  34. ↑ Corbet, 1978 (p. 125)
  35. ↑ The Paleobiology Database: Meriones (accessed July 19, 2009)
  36. ↑ Ellerman and Morrison-Scott, 1951 ( pp. 640–641 )
  37. ↑ a b Ellerman, 1941 ( pp. 530-531 )
  38. ↑ a b Ito and colleagues, 2010 (p. 275)
  39. ^ Ito and colleagues, 2010 (p. 269)
  40. ↑ Chevret and Dobigny, 2005 (Tab. 5)
  41. ↑ Fichet-Calvet, 2013 ( Meriones , p. 335)
  42. ↑ Illiger, 1811 ( p. 82 )
  43. ↑ Bill Berg, 1827 (Consp. A)
  44. ↑ Schulze, 1900 ( p. 201 )
  45. ↑ Qumsiyeh, 1996 (p. 252)
  46. ↑ a b c Pawlinow and coworkers, 1990 (p. 251)
  47. ↑ Thomas, 1919 ( p. 265 )
  48. ↑ a b Ellerman, 1941 ( p. 528 )
  49. ↑ a b Gromow and Jerbajewa, 1995 (p. 352)
  50. ^ Batchelder et al., 2012 (p. 1132)
  51. ↑ Wolodin and colleagues, 1996 (pp. 227–228)
  52. ↑ Ehrlich, 2006 (pp. 102-104)
  53. ↑ Ehrlich, 2006 (p. 108)