150.

Indian Desert Jird

Meriones hurrianae

French: Mérione de |I'Haryana / German: Indische Wistenrennratte / Spanish: Gerbillo de India

Other common names: Indian Desert Gerbil

Taxonomy. Meriones hurrianae Jordon, 1867,

Hurriana (= Haryana) district, India.

Species status of M. hurrianae has been accepted by all authors. No genetic data are available for this species. Monotypic.

Distribution. Coastal regions of SE Iran and S Pakistan, Indus Plain in Pakistan, and Thar Desert of E Pakistan and NW India; it may also occur in Afghanistan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 115-143 mm,tail 100-151 mm, ear 10-14 mm, hindfoot 27-36 mm; weight 70 g. Females are lighter in weight and slightly smaller than males. A medium-sized jird, the Indian Desert Jird is characterized by its noticeably small ears, and short tail (shorter than head-body length) ending with black pencil tuft. Soles of hindfeet are naked, claws blackish. Dorsal pelage is sandy grayish-buff, fur being short, and ventral pelage is grayish or creamy in color. Tympanic bullae are relatively small and their length ¢.33% of occipito-nasal length.

Habitat. Tropical thorn scrub oruncultivated lands in Indus Plain. The Indian Desert Jird favors edges ofcultivated fields, and uncultivated clay flats. It avoids very extensive sand-dune areas, as well as hard and rocky soils.

Food and Feeding. Diet is composed essentially of seeds, herbs, and other green food material. Insects also are eaten at some seasons. An adult consumes about 6 g/day of vegetable matter. In some tree plantations, this jird may eat fallen seeds of Acacia arabica and Prosopis glandulosa (both Fabaceae) or flowers of Calotropis procera (Apocynaceae) . Indian DesertJirds will store seeds and collected vegetable matter in their burrows during certain periods of the year, but this behavior is not observed everywhere.

Breeding. Breeding can occur during whole year. In Rajasthan (India), however, two peaks with more signs of activity among individuals were noted, one in February-March and the second inJuly-August. Mean littersize in same region was 3-8. Summer temperatures above 38°C may, however, inhibit breeding. Near Karachi (south Pakistan), mean litter size reached 4-2 and breeding occurred throughout year. Female can produce 3-4 litters/year, with litter size greater in November. At birth young are naked and blind, eyes open at day 15, and young are weaned at about three weeks. Females enter estrus immediately after parturition.

Activity patterns. Indian Desert Jirds are diurnal, with two peaksof activity, one early in morning and anotherlate in afternoon. They are terrestrial, and dig extensive deep burrow systems 0-5-2 m below surface; these have 3-15 entrances that are never closed during day. Several individuals may live in same burrow, probably occupying different nest chambers.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Indian Desert Jirds forage in proximity of their burrows at distances of 20-150 m. They are not aggressive but are gregarious. Their colonies are the result of several burrows being close together. They have a foot-drumming alarm system, but do not vocalize.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Indian Desert Jird is common and widespread in vicinity of irrigated and cultivated zones of Indus River, but it isnot considered a pest as it favors natural habitats.

Bibliography. Darvish (2011), Prakash (1962, 1968), Roberts (1977).