100.

Greater Short-tailed Gerbil

Gerbillus maghrebi

French: Gerbille du Maghreb / German: GroRRe Kurzschwanz-Rennmaus / Spanish: Gerbillo de cola corta grande

Other common names: Maghreb Gerbil, Maghreb Dipodil

Taxonomy. Gerbillus maghrebi Schlitter & Setzer, 1972,

15 km WSW Taounate, Fes Province, Morocco.

FAMILY MURIDAE Plate 35

True Mice and Rats, Gerbils and relatives Species Accounts

Gerbillus maghrebi, a short-tailed endemic of Morocco, was placed in Dipodillus by G. G. Musser and M. D. Carleton in 2005, but the latter genus was shown to be invalid by A. Abiadh and colleagues in 2010. Studies by I. Ya. Pavlinov and colleagues in 1990, S. Aulagnier and colleagues in 1993 and 2009, and A. Rihane in 2006 revealed that it differs from G. campestris and G. simoni in its external and morphometric characters, as well as in some dental characters. There

are no genetic data for this species. Monotypic.

Distribution. N Morocco, between S of Rif Mts and Middle Atlas Mts.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 106-119 mm, tail 102-111 mm, ear 17-19 mm, hindfoot 26-27 mm; weight 34-58 g. The Greater Short-tailed Gerbil, a small to mediumsized gerbil, is characterized by naked soles of hindfeet and a tail shorter (c.95%) than head-body length, bicolored, and ends with a light pencil of darker and longer hairs. Dorsal pelage is tawny gray and ventral pelage pale salmon-ocher. There are wellmarked white postorbital spots. Tympanic bullae are rather small and poorly inflated, and skull large.

Habitat. Hilly, rocky areas in semiarid zones or clay soils with grass or bushes. The Greater Short-tailed Gerbil avoids sandy habitats and river beds, and is never found in cultivated fields.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. Little is known, but one pregnant female bore eight embryos.

Activity patterns. The Greater Short-tailed Gerbil is nocturnal and terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. The Greater Short-tailed Gerbil is locally abundant, but is far less evident in areas where the North African Gerbil ( G. campestris) occurs.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. The Greater Short-tailed Gerbil has not been captured in cultivated fields, and destruction ofits natural habitat may be a threatto it.

Bibliography. Abiadh, Chétoui et al. (2010), Aulagnier, Barreau & Rocher (1993), Aulagnier, Haffner et al. (2009), Musser & Carleton (2005), Pavlinov et al. (1990), Rihane (2006), Schlitter & Setzer (1972).