Muridae, Illiger, 1811

Obaid, Ahmed Al, Ahmary, Ali Al, Shuraim, Faisal, Neyaz, Farah, Boug, Ahmad Al, Mir, Zaffar R. & Amr, Zuhair S., 2023, Small mammals from Farasan Archipelago, Saudi Arabia, Ecologica Montenegrina 65, pp. 40-46 : 44

Family Muridae

Acomys dimidiatus (Cretzschmar, 1826)

This is a rather common species inhabiting the rocky areas along the two main islands, Farasan and As Saqid islands (As Saqid and Al Moharak 1) ( Fig. 4D ). It was trapped from As Saqid and over 40 skulls were found in the Barn Owl pellets in As Saqid cave.

Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Two adult male specimens were trapped from a chicken coop where grains and feed pellets are stored near a house in Al Moharak village (Al Moharak 1). Body measurements for one male are as the following: Tail length 232 mm, body length 173 mm ( Fig. 4E ). This is the first confirmed record for the Black Rat in Farasan. The locals in the village indicated that the Black Rat is common and frequent houses and animal sheds .

Gerbillus nanus Blanford, 1875

This is the first record of the Baluchistan Gerbil from Farasan Archipelago. Three specimens were trapped from As Saqid and Al Moharak village (Al Moharak 3). This species inhabits flat areas with soft soil and relatively dense vegetation of L. axillare ( Figs. 2B and 4F ). It avoids rocky habitats that surrounds its burrows. At least 15 skulls of G. nanus were recovered from pellets of the Barn Owl, Tyto alba , from As Saqid cave.

Figures

Figure 2. Habitats in the Farasan Archipelago. A. Rocky habitat for Acomys dimidiatus. B. Soft sand showing a burrow of Gerbillus nanus. C. As Saqid cave, where three bat species were recorded. D. Mangrove habitat along the coastal line of the archipelago

Figure 4. Small mammals recorded from Farasan Archipelago. A. Rhinopoma cystops. B. Asellia patrizii. C. Pipistrellus kuhlii. D. Acomys dimidiatus E. Rattus rattus. F. Gerbillus nanus.