138.

Sundevall’s Jird

Meriones crassus

French: Mérione de Sundevall / German: Sundevall-Rennratte / Spanish: Gerbillo de Sundevall

Other common names: Gentle Jird, Jerusalem Jird, Silky Jird

Taxonomy. Meriones crassus Sundevall, 1842,

Fount of Moses (Ain Moses), Sinai, Egypt.

Meriones crassus 1s distinguished by morphological features and chromosomal data. It has been revised by many authors, generally at regional scale. J. Darvish in 201 1 revised morphology of nearly all species of Meriones and provided a tree where M. crassus is close to M. menridianus and M. unguiculatus . M. Ito and colleagues in 2010 found M. crassus close to M. rex in a clade with M. libycus . Monotypic.

Distribution. N Africa (from Morocco and Mauritania E to Egypt and NE Sudan), Middle East, S Turkmenistan, W & S Afghanistan, and W Pakistan.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 100-153 mm, tail 98-158 mm, ear 14-22 mm, hindfoot 30-38 mm; weight 55-158 g. Tail of Sundevall’s Jird is long (100% of head-body length), and terminal tuft is grayish to chestnut (with strong variation) and less developed than that of Libyan Jird ( M. libycus); dorsal proximal part oftail is off-white, with dark brown tuft at end. According to Darvish in 2009, tail length increases from western Iranian Plateau toward Iraq and North Africa. Soles of hindfeet are partly hairy; heel is hairless, with fine line of demarcation. Claws are ivory-white. Dorsum is gray and underbelly white. Skull is less robust than that of Libyan Jird, but is characterized by voluminous tympanic bullae extending posteriorly to paroccipital processes. Females bear four pairs of mammae. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 60, FN = 72.

Habitat. Sundevall’s Jird is typically a Saharan species in North Africa, but can be found also in steppic semi-dry environments. It seems to prefer sandy soils, but may occur also in rocky areas in “wadis” (ephemeral riverbeds) and “hamadas” (barren, hard, rocky plateaus). It can wander far from vegetation. In North Africa it was reported also as feeding on succulent stems, fruits and insects.

Food and Feeding. In Arabia, Sundevall’s Jirds eat acacias ( Acacia, Fabaceae) or colocynths ( Citrullus, Cucurbitaceae) as well as Medicago (Fabaceae) seeds, and at certain times also some Schistocerca locusts. In Iran, they feed on seeds of Peganum harmala ( Nitrariaceae). In Egypt, remnants of Cassia acutifolia (Fabaceae) were found in the burrows and Sundevall’s Jirds have been observed feeding on seeds of Colocynthis vulgaris ( Cucurbitaceae), Anabasis articulata ( Amaranthaceae), and Zilla (Brassicaceae) . In Israel they preferred saltbush ( Atriplex halimus, Amaranthaceae) and Moricandia nitens (Brassicaceae) plants. Their metabolism allows these jirds to concentrate and recycle water, and they can withstand strong dehydration.

Breeding. Gestation takes 21-31 days, and pregnant females have 3-7 embryos. Spring and early summer correspond to birth peak. Young are naked and blind until two weeks of life, and are weaned after one month. Sexual maturity is reached at around two months.

Activity patterns. Nocturnal, and terrestrial, digging burrows. Sundevall’s Jirds are known to be nomadic, and will move to another site when resources are finished or too poor. They emerge from burrows about one hour after dusk. Burrow architecture is variable in complexity, and abandoned burrows are sometimes “recycled.” Some may have 18 entrances,extend up to 12 m in length, and be very deep (1-2 m); mean depth beneath surface in Morocco is 0-37 m. Many galleries are “culs de sac” and end below surface. Nest chamber is lined with dry shredded vegetation.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Sundevall’s Jird is not colonial but can be gregarious or solitary. Communication is via podophony (foot-tapping), and the animals can respond to high-intensity ultrasonic sounds. They can forage over long distances (up to 10 km reported). They store food in special chambers in their burrows.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List. No major threats are known for Sundevall’s Jird. It may be found close to agricultural regions in south Tunisia. It can be common in some environments, and densities of 0-1-11 ind/ ha have been reported.

Bibliography. Amr (2000), Aulagnier et al. (2009), Darvish (2009, 2011), Granjon & Duplantier (2009), Happold (2013a), Ito et al. (2010), Kam et al. (1997), Koffler (1972), Kowalski & Rzebik-Kowalska (1991), Krasnov et al. (1996), Krystufek & Vohralik (2009), Petter (1961c), Qumsiyeh (1996), Ranck (1968), Shenbrot et al. (2002).