148.

Persian Jird

Meriones persicus

French: Mérione de Perse / German: Persien-Rennratte / Spanish: Gerbillo de Persia

Taxonomy. Gerbillus persicus Blanford, 1875,

“in Persia [= Iran].”

Described as a Gerbillus and then moved to genus Meriones, M. persicus has been revised locally throughout its range. It was revised by I. Ya. Pavlinov and colleagues in 1990 on morphological grounds, and its karyotype was described by N. Yigit and E. Colak in 1999. M. Dianat and colleagues in 2016 and 2017 undertook a morphometric, karyotypic, and molecular study of the six subspecies in Iran revealed their variability and allowed the defining of three clades, status of which is not fully resolved. Those authors defined rossicus and showed that it has a wider geographical range than previously thought; found gurganensis and baptistae to be genetically very close; found skull of gurganensis morphologically distinguishable from those of other subspecies; showed subspecies persicus and baptistae to be genetically distinct, but morphologically close; and found ambrosius genetically close to nominotypical persicus . They did not, however, reach a conclusion about their phylogenetic position in relation to other species of genus. Pavlinov and colleagues in 1990 recognized three valid subspecies, while I. M. Gromov and M. A. Erbajeva in 1995 recognized five, and the Dianat team in 2016 and 2017 six. Six subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

M.p.persicusBlanford,1875—NC&ECIran,Afghanistan,andextremeWPakistan.

M.p.ambrosiusThomas,1919—narrowbandfromWCtoSEIran.

M.p.baptistaeThomas,1920—SEIran,extremeSAfghanistan,andSWPakistan.

M.p.gurganensisGoodwin,1939—NEIran.

M.p.rossicusHeptner,1931—ETurkey,SArmenia,SW&SAzerbaijan,andNWIran.

M. p. suschkini Kashkarov, 1925 — W Turkmenistan. Present also in N Iraq and W & C Iran, but subspecies involved not known.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 120-165 mm, tail 125-190 mm, ear 20-27 mm, hindfoot 36-45 mm; weight 80-140 g. The Persian Jird is medium to large in size and has naked soles of hindfeet. Tail is longer than body length and ends in a thick pencil of long gray hairs. Dorsal pelage is soft and thick, tawny in some regions and reddish in others, while flanks and cheeks are lighter, and ventral pelage gray to white. Females bear eight nipples. Tympanic bullae aremoderately inflated and represent ¢.31% of length of skull. Chromosomal complement for a Turkish population has 2n = 42, FNa = 74, while Iranian populations show variability with 2n = 42, FNa = 74-76.

Habitat. Mountain regions, slopes, and steep rocky hills with grasslands and even edge of forests. The Persian Jird can be found in dry “wadis” (ephemeral riverbeds) and around stone walls in cultivated orchards and vineyards. The species is not known to enter fields but does occur at their margins.

Food and Feeding. Omnivorous, Persian Jirds favor seeds and green parts of plants, grass roots, stems, fallen berries and some insects. In captivity they eat grain, lucerne ( Medicago sativa), and clover ( Trifolium), both Fabaceae . They carry grain and seeds to burrows for storage and consumption during winter. Among stored matter cached under ground, Onobrychis (Fabaceae) seeds; Bromus, Hordeum, Elymus, and Festuca (all Poaceae); and Medicago were identified.

Breeding. In Pakistan and Turkmenistan breeding is seasonal, from end of spring until late summer, and in Transcaucasia it starts as early as beginning of March. Young are born in nest chamber on a soft bed of vegetable matter. Gestation lasts ¢.28 days, number of embryos is 2-11, and average litter size is 3-5 in Pakistan and 4-6 in other regions. Young are naked and blind at birth, and eyes open at day 15 or 16.

Activity patterns. Persian Jirds are nocturnal and terrestrial, although some authors note diurnal activity at time of high population densities. These jirds shelter and make burrows in crevices among rocks or under slabs, always on slopes and never in flat areas. They also favor dry-stone embankments on border of upland terraces. They do not dig burrows frequently, but sometimes excavate soil to make a short system of galleries (less than 1 m below surface and 20 m long) with a single entrance. Winter burrows are more elaborate than summer ones. Persian Jirds do not hibernate, but may enter torpor during coldest days in winter.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. In Pakistan, males have larger home ranges (mean greatest distance traveled 61-2 m) than females (35-4 m), a situation observed also in Turkmenistan and Transcaucasia regions, where home ranges varied between 80 m* and 600 m*. Population densities were lowest in spring with a drop to 1-5 ind/ha, compared with 12-9 ind/ha at end of summer. Persian Jirds live in dispersed colonies and are aggressive.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Aulagnier et al. (2009), Darvish (2009, 2011), Dianat, Darvish, Aliabadian et al. (2016), Dianat, Darvish, Cornette et al. (2017), Gromov & Erbajeva (1995), Krystufek & Vohralik (2009), Lay (1967), Pavlinov et al. (1990), Petter (1961c), Roberts (1977), Yigit & Colak (1999).