144.

Vinogradov’s Jird

Meriones vinogradovi

French: Mérione de Vinogradov / German: Vinogradow-Rennratte / Spanish: Gerbillo de Vinogradov

Taxonomy. Meriones vinogradovi Heptner, 1931,

Tabriz, Azerbaidjan, Iran.

V. G. Heptner in 1934 provided morphological characters to distinguish M. wvinogradovi from M.persicus and indicated for the first time the former’s presence in Turkey, a view followed in 1957 by X. Misonne. M. vinogradovi was considered a valid species by I. Ya. Pavlinov and colleagues in 1990, and in 1991 D. L. Harrison and P. J. J. Bates presented some skull and other

morphological characters. Recently, a skull geometric morphometric analysis was performed by F. T. Yazdi and D. Adriaens. Karyotypes were provided byJ. Zima and B. Kral in 1984 and by N. Yigit and colleagues in 2006. Monotypic.

Distribution. N Syria, Turkey (E Anatolia), Armenia, SW Azerbaijan, and NW Iran; distribution limits inMesopotamia are unresolved.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 140-170 mm, tail 130-170 mm, ear 19-22 mm, hindfoot 31-39 mm; weight 100-200 g. In Transcaucasia males are significantly larger than females. A large and robust member of genus, Vinogradov’sJird is similar to Tristram’s Jird ( M. tristrami), but is characterized by very hairy soles and by tympanic bullae being less inflated than those of Tristram’s Jird, Sundevall’s Jird ( M. crassus), and the Libyan Jird ( M. libycus). Dense dorsal pelage is dull grayish buff and finely speckled, and belly is white with some gray hairs; a characteristic buff streak is present on throat and chest (apparently in variable proportions). A white post-auricular tuft is visible. Claws are pale. Tail is bicolored and ends in well-developed tuft of black hairs. Tail is shorter than body length (76-102%, average 89-9%). Tympanic bullae are slightly inflated and represent on average 31-4% of maximum length of skull. Females have four pairs of mammae. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 44, FNa = 74.

Habitat. Vinogradov’s Jird inhabits semi-desert zones, mountain slopes, fallow land, “wadis” (ephemeral riverbeds) and riverbanks, and cultivated areas. Deep soll is essential, and it does not occur in sandy and rocky areas. The species may be found at up to 2600 m altitude.

Food and Feeding. Vinogradov’s Jirds are omnivorous, but their diet consists mainly of seeds and green part of plants. Food is stored in burrows in winter, and up to 3-5 kg were found in a single cache.

Breeding. Breeding season starts in spring, reaching peak in March/April-June, and lasts for six months only. Gestation period is 21-23 days. In captivity a female may produce up to five litters per year and give birth to 7-8 offspring. In the wild, number of embryos is 1-12 and litter size 6-8. At birth, young are naked and blind; their eyes open at 19-20 days. Sexual maturity is reached at three months, but juveniles stay through winter with their parents and reproduce a year after.

Activity patterns. Diurnal in winter and spring, nocturnal in summer. Vinogradov’sJird is terrestrial, digging burrows.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. In Transcaucasia, typical burrows are buried c.30-50 cm below soil surface and have numerous entrances, with at least four storage chambers arranged along the tunnels, and total length of galleries is more than 19 m. Some burrows are less complex, with no chambers and few entrances. Winter and summer burrows are different. Vinogradov’s Jird is considered colonial in Arabia and Armenia, where colony is composed of a large number of burrows where the jirds store food materials. One or two pairs of adults and their young constitute a colony, and average of 4-5 ind/colony was counted. Generally, a well-established male stays with two females, all sharing a common territory of ¢.0-1-0-3 ha (rarely 0-5-0-8 ha) and tending young together.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Vinogradov’s Jird occurs in many protected areas and no serious threats are noted. In Turkey, it has a fragmented range and has been considered endangered by some authors.

Bibliography. Aulagnier et al. (2009), Dahl (1954), Ejgelis (1980), Harrison & Bates (1991), Heptner (1934), Krystufek & Vohralik (2009), Misonne (1957), Pavlinov et al. (1990), Petter (1961c), Yazdi & Adriaens (2013), Yigit, Colak et al. (2006), Yigit, Gharkheloo et al. (2006), Zima & Kral (1984).