Eliomys melanurus (Wagner, 1839)

Amr, Zuhair S., Abu, Mohammad A., Qumsiyeh, Mazin & Eid, Ehab, 2018, Systematics, distribution and ecological analysis of rodents in Jordan, Zootaxa 4397 (1), pp. 1-94 : 11

Eliomys melanurus (Wagner, 1839)

Common name: Asian garden dormouse.

Diagnosis: A squirrel-like mouse with thick fur, large ears, and bushy tail. Dorsal side is gray and ventral side is white with a distinct line of demarcation ( Figure 8 ). Eyes surrounded by black hair, mask-like black stripe extending from eyes backwards to the base of ears. Fore feet have four digits, hind feet five, the soles are naked. Tail terminates with bushy black hair, covering almost half of the tail length ( Figure 7 ). Skull with very large tympanic bullae and long rostrum. Zygomatic arches very delicate. Slender mandible with large perforations of the angular processes, having a distinctive secondary projection on the lower margin. Crowns of cheekteeth distinctively concave ( Figure 9 ).

Localities: Previous records. Jîza, Umm ar Rasas (Tristram, 1866); Moab and Edom (Bodenheimer, 1958); Azraq ed Duruz (Atallah, 1978); Wādī Rajil near Jāwá (Searight, 1987); Azraq ed Duruz, Dhaba’ah ( Amr & Disi, 1988); Al Wisad ( Abu Baker & Amr, 2003b); Wādī Ramm (Abu Baker & Amr, 2004); Ḑānā Biosphere Reserve (Yousef & Amr, 2005). Materials extracted from owl pellets. Ex. Tyto alba, (Wādī Al Barra) Ḑānā (Obuch per. com.); Ex. Bubo bubo, Marj Al Hammam (Obuch per. com.); Ex. Bubo bubo, Qaşr Burqu' (Obuch per. com.). New records. Dibbīn Forest Reserve, ar Ruwayshid ( Figure 10 ).

Habitat: It occurs in a wide range of habitats from the temperate forests to densely vegetated habitats and rocky deserts. As the distribution map shows, it was collected among black lava rocky habitats in the Eastern Desert, rocky juniper forest in Ḑānā Biosphere Reserve, and sand stone deserts of Wādī Ramm. It is arboreal and comes out at night to feed on Haloxylon persicum shrubs, oak, wild figs, and juniper trees.

Biology: Females give birth to 2–9 young, and become fully mature by one year (Kingdon, 1990). The Asian garden dormouse lives along with other desert rodents, such as Gerbillus dasyurus and Acomysrussatus (Atallah, 1978). It feeds on insects, snails and centipedes (Atallah, 1978; Nader et al., 1983).

Remarks: The southwest Asian garden dormouse has a remarkable distribution pattern, despite being originally an arboreal species. The species became adapted to a non-arboreal life style 1.2 million years ago (Bates, 1996). Earlier geological periods and deforestation events have created relict populations of this species within the rocky habitats of Wādī Ramm and the Eastern Desert. The karyotype for specimens collected from the Negev Desert was found to be 2n=48, FN=86, with 14 metacentric or submetacentic, and 6 subtelocentric pairs of chromosomes (Filippucci et al., 1988).

Figures

FIGURE 7. Distribution of the Persian squirrel, Sciurus anomalus.

FIGURE 8. The Asian garden dormouse, Eliomys melanurusfrom Wādī Ramm (photo by David Modry).

FIGURE 9. A.Dorsal, B. Ventral, C. Lateral views of the skull, and D. Maxillary teeth for Eliomys melanurus.

FIGURE 10. Distribution of the Asian garden dormouse, Eliomys melanurus.