69.

Boehm’s Gerbil

Gerbilliscus boehmi

French: Gerbille de Bohm / German: Béhm-Nacktsohlenrennmaus / Spanish: Gerbillo de Bohm

Taxonomy. Tatera boehmi Noack, 1887,

“Qua Mpala, Marungu,” Katanga Province, DR Congo.

Gerbilliscus boehmi has been revised by various authors, all of whom confirmed its unique morphological character attributes. No genetic data are yet available. Monotypic.

Distribution. S Uganda, SW Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, W Tanzania, E & S DR Congo, E Angola, N & E Zambia, W Malawi,

and NW Mozambique.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 139-179 mm, tail 190-234 mm, ear 21-26 mm, hindfoot 38-47 mm; weight 146 g. Boehm’s Gerbil is unique in displaying doublegrooved incisors and a long white-tipped tail reaching 130% of head-body length. Dorsal pelage is brown with some dark parts, while venter is white and well delineated on flanks. Soles of hindfeet are naked. Tympanic bullae are moderately inflated and represent ¢.30% of maximum length of skull. Females have three or four pairs of mammae.

Habitat. Typical inhabitant of miombo ( Brachystegia, Fabaceae) woodlands, where there is grass cover and some humidity. In some places, Boehm’s Gerbil may extend into cultivated fields.

Food and Feeding. Omnivorous, with tendency to prefer vegetable food and, occasionally, insects.

Breeding. Reproduction may occur during the wet season (November—May) but is poorly documented. A single female Boehm’s Gerbil was reported to bear five embryos.

Activity patterns. Boechm'’s Gerbil is probably nocturnal and terrestrial, digging burrows.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Bochm’s Gerbil lives in a burrow with one or two entrances, which it either digs itself or uses a preexisting burrow of another gerbil or a mole-rat.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. Boehm’s Gerbil is not very well known,is rare or uncommon, and is not known to occur in any protected areas.

Bibliography. Bates (1988), Delany (1975), Dempster & Perrin (1994), Dempster, Dempster & Perrin (1992), Happold (2013a), Kingdon (1974).