Gerbillus mauritaniae (Heim de Balsac, 1943)

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Muridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 536-884 : 633

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6887260

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6868191

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1E30E275-3404-FFB5-E16A-2B6671FC8279

treatment provided by

Carolina

scientific name

Gerbillus mauritaniae
status

 

109. View Plate 35: Muridae

Mauritanian Gerbil

Gerbillus mauritaniae View in CoL

French: Gerbille de Mauritanie / German: Mauretanien-Rennmaus / Spanish: Gerbillo de Mauritania

Taxonomy. Monodia mauritaniae Heim de Balsac, 1943 ,

south of Archane Titarek, Aouker Region, Mauritania.

Gerbillus mauritaniae is the type species of the genus Monodia , created by H.Heim de Balsac in 1943, but validity of that genus was contested by various authors and Mono- dia was finally subsumed into genus Gerbil- lus. Furthermore, owing to lack of relevant knowledge, species status of G. mauritaniae is disputed, and many authors, including L. Granjon and J. M. Duplantier in 2009, suggest that it is a synonym of G. nancillus . Following G. G. Musser and M. D. Carleton’s 2005 taxonomy, however, it is currently retained as valid species pending further analyses and new arguments. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from type locality in S Mauritania. View Figure

Descriptive notes. Head-body 55 mm,tail 75 mm, hindfoot 15 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Mauritanian Gerbil is one of the pygmy gerbils of West Africa. Dorsal pelage has sandy color and ventral pelage is white; soles are naked. Tympanic bullae are small and poorly inflated. It is characterized by a bilaminate M,. Tail is long (136% of head—body length), with some longer hairs at tip, but no pencil.

Habitat. Sand dunes ofarid zones (southern Sahara and edge of Sahelian region).

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Mauritanian Gerbils are probably nocturnal and terrestrial, digging burrows.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List, where it is considered a synonym of G. nancillus . Recent expeditionsin region of type locality failed to catch new specimens of the Mauritanian Gerbil.

Bibliography. Ba et al. (2001), Granjon & Duplantier (2009), Heim de Balsac (1943), Musser & Carleton (2005), Tranier & Julien-Laferriere (1990).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Mammalia

Order

Rodentia

Family

Muridae

Genus

Gerbillus

Loc

Gerbillus mauritaniae

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr 2017
2017
Loc

Monodia mauritaniae

Heim de Balsac 1943
1943
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