137.

Bushy-tailed Jird

Sekeetamys calurus

French: Gerbille a queue touffue / German: Buschschwanz-Rennmaus / Spanish: Gerbillo de cola peluda

Taxonomy. Gerbillus calurus Thomas, 1892,

near Tor, Sinai, Egypt.

Originally described in genus Gerbullus, S. calurus was accorded its own genus by J. R. Ellerman in 1947 on basis of its unique morphology, an opinion followed by I. Ya. Pavlinov and colleagues in 1990. Darker individuals from Eastern Desert of Egypt were described by H.W. Setzer in 1961 as a separate species, S. makrami, but makrami was recognized only at subspecies level by D. J. Osborn and I. Helmy in 1980. M. B. Qumsiyeh and R. K. Chesser providedsome karyotypic data in 1988, but there are as yet no other genetic data. Two subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

S.c.calurusThomas,1892—SinaiPeninsula(Egypt),SIsrael,SWJordan,andCSaudiArabia.

S. c. makrami Setzer, 1961 — Eastern Desert ofEgypt.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 98-130 mm,tail 112-164 mm, ear 17-23 mm, hindfoot 28-35 mm; weight 26-50 g. Nipples: 2 + 2 = 8. Bushy-tailedJird is a small to medium-sized rodent with long, bushy black tail with white tip and long and soft pelage. Dorsum is pale brownish yellow to sandy buff, speckled with black, the hairs gray at base with yellowish subterminal band and black tip. Flanks are paler, with yellow or orange line from wrist to ankle. Ventral pelage is pure white. Head is similar in color to back, with eyes large and dark. Ears are large, darkly pigmented, rounded at tip, with sparse short hairs. Hindfeet are long and narrow, soles naked. Long tail (c.120% of head-body length) is bushy, densely covered with long black hairs arranged in feather-like manner (similar to that of a dormouse), white attip; tail is unlike that of any other species of Gerbillinae. Skull has inflated bullae, conspicuous supraorbital and cranial ridges, compressed zygomatic arches, long narrow rostrum, narrow interorbital constriction, and opisthodont upper incisors each with single longitudinal groove. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 38, FN = 70.

Habitat. The Bushy-tailedJird is found in rocky areas, sandstone cliffs, crevices in granite and among boulders in arid regions; also mountain regions in Sinai but never above 600 m altitude. Not recorded from sandy areas.

Food and Feeding. Omnivorous, Bushy-tailed Jirds have a diet dominated by insects and supplemented by some green plant material. Individuals were trapped in crevices which contained parts of seeds and seed capsules, as well as bits of succulent plants. Captives also ate cockroaches and crickets.

Breeding. Some females have been found pregnant in February and March in the wild. S. S.Flower in 1932 reported litters from captive animals in every month except September. In 47 litters, average number of young was 2-8; two litters of six were recorded.

Activity patterns. Bushy-tailed Jirds are nocturnal and very agile. They climb rapidly on boulders and rock faces. During the day, they rest in rock crevices and under boulders; they do not dig burrows. During locomotion, the tail is held upright and curved forward in squirrel-like fashion. In Egypt, this jird coexists with other rock-adapted species, including the Northeast African Spiny Mouse ( Acomys cahirinus), the Golden Spiny Mouse ( A. russatus), and Wagner’s Gerbil ( Gerbillus dasyurus).

Movements, Home range and Social organization. In the Negev, densities have been estimated at 0-8-3 ind/ha.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Bushytailed Jird was recordedas moderately abundant in Israel by A. Zahavi and J. Wahrman in 1957, and no serious threats have been recorded. Isolated population of Central Arabia, however, still needs further study with regard to its taxonomic status and ecology.

Bibliography. Denys (2013c), Ellerman (1947), Flower (1932), Harrison & Bates (1991), Osborn & Helmy (1980), Pavlinov et al. (1990), Qumsiyeh (1996), Qumsiyeh & Chesser (1988), Setzer (1961), Zahavi & Wahrman (1957).