68.

Fast African Gerbil

Gerbilliscus vicinus

French: Gerbille du Kitui / German: Ostafrika-Nacktsohlenrennmaus / Spanish: Gerbillo de Africa oriental

Other common names: Ukamba Gerbil

Taxonomy. Gerbillus vicinus Peters, 1878,

Kitui in Ukamba, Kitui District, Kenya.

Originally described in genus Gerbillus, G. vicinus was later moved to Tatera . It was earlier considered to be synonymous with G. robustus, but was recently separated on basis of chromosomal, molecular, and morphometric characters detailed by P. Colangelo and colleagues in 2005, 2007, and 2010 and by L. Granjon and coworkers in 2012. It belongs to an East African clade and is close to G. robustus, G. phillipsi, and G. nigricaudus . Monotypic.

Distribution. Kenya and Tanzania; N limits not known.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 109-157 mm, tail 139-195 mm, ear 12-24 mm, hindfoot 32-43 mm; weight 54-104 g. The East African Gerbil lookslike the Fringe-tailed Gerbil ( G. robustus) and has a long tail (120% of head-body length) without terminal pencil; it is distinguished from that species only by molecular and morphometric details. The East African Gerbil differs from the Black-tailed Gerbil ( G. nigricaudus) in having brown tail and from Phillips's Gerbil (G. phillips) in being smaller. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 36, FN = 68.

Habitat. Not known, but recorded in cultivated fields.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. The East African Gerbil is probably nocturnal and terrestrial like congeners. It digs complex burrows.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The IUCN Red List as it was still considered a synonym of the Fringe-tailed Gerbil.

Bibliography. Bates (1988), Colangelo, Castiglia et al. (2010), Colangelo, Corti et al. (2005), Colangelo, Granjon et al. (2007), Granjon et al. (2012), Monadjem et al. (2015), Pavlinov et al. (1990).