Jaculus blanfordi (Murray, 1884)
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6591722 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6591659 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/482287C8-ED4C-7D6B-B1FA-F6CEC8447758 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Jaculus blanfordi |
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Blanford’s Jerboa
French: Gerboise de Blanford / German: Blanford-Springmaus / Spanish: Jerbo de Blanford
Other common names: Greater Three-toed Jerboa
Taxonomy. Dipus blanfordi Murray, 1884 ,
Bushire , Iran.
The recently described J. thaleri by J. Darvish and F. Hosseinie in 2005 seems to be an aberrant phenotype ofJ. blanfordi rather than an independent species. Based on morphology, J. blanfordi was considered as a member of subgenus Haltomys , but it genetically occupies the basal position in the subgenus Jaculus . Three subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
J.b.blanfordiMurray,1884—Iran,W&SAfghanistan,andSWPakistan.
J.b.margianusShenbrot,1990—STurkmenistan.
J. b. turemenicus Vinogradov & Bondar, 1949 — N & W Turkmenistan, C Uzbekistan, and marginally in S Kazakhstan (S Kyzylorda Region). View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 130-150 mm, tail 185-220 mm, ear 24-29 mm, hindfoot 63-73 mm; weight 79-141 g. There is no significant secondary sexual dimorphism. Head and dorsum of Blanford’s Jerboa are light grayish brown; sides and ventral pelage are pure white; and tail banneris wide and well flattened, with fuzzy white basal ring, relatively short black subterminalfield, and long white terminal tuft. Toes of hindfeet are covered from below with brushes of relatively long soft hairs; external hairs of brushes are white, with dark brown tips, and internally black or dark brown; and toes do not have conic calluses at bases. Rostral part of skull is massive. Auditory bullae are strongly inflated and project from under braincase laterally and caudally. Mastoid cavity is large and partially subdivided into three sections by septs. In volume, mastoid cavity is about several times larger than tympanic cavity. Front surfaces of incisors are white. P' is absent. Molars are high-crowned, with terraced masticatory surfaces; crown heights of unworn molars are ¢.140% of their lengths. Glans penis is massive, cylindrical, slightly elongated, and subdivided by deep longitudinal folds into two ventro-lateral lobes and one dorsal lobe; ventro-lateral lobes have shallow longitudinal depressions; dorsal lobe has pair ofstylet-shaped, forward-directed thorns rooted in middle of lobe; anterior part of surface of the dorsal lobe is covered by single-vertex, backward-directed aciculae increasing in size in backward direction; and posterior part of surface of dorsal lobe and all surfaces of ventro-lateral lobes are covered byflat backward-directed, comb-like scales. Os penis (baculum) is large (its length about equal to length of glans penis) and straight, with short horizontal proximal plate, large flat horizontal broadenings at distal end, and vertical ridge. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48 and FN = 92.
Habitat. Clay, stony, and sandy-gravel deserts but not sandy deserts.
Food and Feeding. Diet of Blanford’s Jerboa contains green plant material, seeds, and flowers. In spring, it eats mainly green plant parts (89% by volume); in summer, vegetative and reproductive parts of plants are eaten in roughly equal amounts.
Breeding. Breeding of Blanford’s Jerboa was recorded in March—June and October in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and in January-March in Iran and Pakistan. Litters have 1-6 young (average range 3-4—4-3). Overwintering females can produce up to two litters per year. Gestation was estimated at 35 days. Young are nursed for 43-45 days.
Activity patterns. Blanford’s Jerboa is nocturnal. Aboveground activity usually starts 1-5-2 hoursafter sunset. Hibernation in northern parts of the distribution (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) lasts from November to February; in some exceptionally warm winters, Blanford’s Jerboas do not hibernate. In southern parts of the distribution (Iran), hibernation has been not recorded.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Blanford’s Jerboas move slowly to forage, using bipedal pacing with alternating support by left and right hindfeet. They use asynchronous ricochet jumps when running fast. Maximum length of jump is 280 cm, and maximum speed is 9-2 m/s. Burrows have one main entrance, 1-3 emergency exits, one main and 1-3 additional tunnels, one nest chamber (10-12 cm in diameter for males and 20 cm for females) at depths of 35-60 cm, and 1-2 additional chambers; total lengths of tunnels are 150-240 cm. Main entrance is always closed with soil plug. Wintering burrows are simple (one main and one additional tunnel) and deeper (up to 75 cm).
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. “Thaler’s Jerboa” ( J. thaleri ) is classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List, but it is considered here as a synonym of Blanford’s Jerboa.
Bibliography. Brown (1980), Darvish & Hosseinie (2005), Darvish, Siahsarvie et al. (2006), Hassinger (1973), Lay (1967), Pisano et al. (2015), Roberts (1997), Shenbrot et al. (2008).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
