139.

Moroccan Jird

Meriones grandis

French: Mérione du Maroc / German: Marokko-Rennratte / Spanish: Gerbillo de Marruecos

Taxonomy. Meriones grandis Cabrera, 1907,

Marrakesh, Morocco.

Meriones grandis was put in synonymy with M. shawii by many authors, among which S. Aulagnier and M. Thévenot in 1986, but revision by I. Ya. Pavlinov in 2000 rehabilitated M. grandis on chiefly morphological grounds. This opinion was followed by G. G. Musser and M. D. Carleton in 2005, S. Aulagnier and colleagues in 2009, and J. Darvish in 2011. New molecular studies have shown that, in Morocco, two clades of Meriones of the shawii species complex could coexist and be attributed to M. grandis and M. shaw. The Moulouya River may act as barrier between them. Further studies are needed in order to verify distributions of M. shawii and M. grandis . Monotypic.

Distribution. Morocco up to Atlas Mts above 2000 m; E limit not clarified, possibly extending into Algeria and Tunisia.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 150-200 mm, tail 160-180 mm, ear 19-23 mm, hindfoot 39-42 mm; weight 160-250 g. The Moroccan Jird is a large member of genus, very similar to Shaw’s Jird (M. shaw) but larger in size and displaying smaller molar rows and broader skull. It has shady-brown dorsum and white venter. Tail is nearly same length as head-body length (96% of head—body length) and has small pencil of brown hairs at end. Soles of hindfeet are partially hairy. Tympanic bullae are smaller than those of Shaw’s Jird. Females bear eight pairs of mammae.

Habitat. Recent discoveries showed that the Moroccan Jird occurs in various types of environment, from cultivated fields of Atlantic plains and hills to Atlas Mountains at up to 2800 m, as well as insteppic and semiarid environments.

Food and Feeding. The Moroccan Jird feeds on seeds and flowers.

Breeding. In the Marrakesh region and in central Morocco, many pregnant and lactating females were recovered in April. Females bore 5-10 embryos.

Activity patterns. Moroccan Jirds are nocturnal and terrestrial, digging burrows.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Moroccan Jirds probably live in family colonies with multientrance burrows similar to those of Shaw’s Jird.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. There are no special threats to the Moroccan Jird, which is found in cultivated zones.

Bibliography. Aulagnier & Thévenot (1986), Aulagnier et al. (2009), Darvish (2011), Lalis et al. (2016), Musser & Carleton (2005), Pavlinov (2000).