Gerbillus agag, Thomas, 1903

Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Muridae, Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona: Lynx Edicions, pp. 536-884 : 632

107.

Agag Gerbil

Gerbillus agag

French: Gerbille dAgageh / German: Agag-Rennmaus / Spanish: Gerbillo de Agag

Taxonomy. Gerbillus agag Thomas, 1903 ,

Agageh Wells, W Kordofan, Sudan.

Gerbillus agag is in the subgenus Gerbillus . For some authors, such as D. C. D. Hap-pold in 2013, the name G. agag is a syno-nym of G. cosensi ; for some others, including F. Petter in 1975, G. G.Musser and M. D. Carleton in 2005, and A. Monadjem and colleagues in 2015, G. cosensi is synonym of G. agag . The name G. agag is here retained as valid pending further studies. D. M. Lay in 1983 considered that both G. agag and G. cosensi are valid. There are no genetic data. Moreover, D. Kock in 1978 recognized four additional subspecies: maradius, migeniae, rosalinda , and sudanensis. Subspecies nigeriae and rosalinda have now been accorded species rank, but a thorough revision of this group is still needed. Three subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution.

G.a.agagThomas,1903—Mali,SNiger,NNigeria,extremeNCameroon,WCChad,SWSudan,extremeSESouthSudan,andWKenya.

G.a.maradiusKock,1978—knownonlyfromthetypelocalityinextremeSNiger.

G. a. sudanensis Setzer, 1956 — NC & NE Sudan.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 90-135 mm, tail 100-143 mm, ear 13-20 mm, hindfoot 25-30 mm; weight 30-34 g. This is quite a large gerbil of the genus Gerbillus . It has hairy hindfeet soles and a long (125% of head-body length) tail.

Habitat. No information.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List pending further studies.

Bibliography. Happold (2013a), Kock (1978b), Lay (1983), Monadjem et al. (2015), Musser & Carleton (2005), Petter (1975a).

Figures

86. Ammodile (Ammodillus imbellis), 87. Pleasant Gerbil (Gerbillus amoenus), 88. Anderson’s Gerbil (Gerbillus andersoni), 89. Botta’s Gerbil (Gerbillus bottai), 90. North African Gerbil (Gerbillus campestris), 91. Flower’s Gerbil (Gerbillus floweri), 92. Algerian Gerbil (Gerbillus garamantis), 93. Lesser Egyptian Gerbil (Gerbillus gerbillus), 94. Grobben’s Gerbil (Gerbillus grobbeni), 95. Pygmy Gerbil (Gerbillus henleyi), 96. Moroccan Gerbil (Gerbillus hesperinus), 97. Hoogstraal’s Gerbil (Gerbillus hoogstraali), 98. James's Gerbil (Gerbillus jamesi), 99. Lataste’s Gerbil (Gerbillus latastei), 100. Greater Short-tailed Gerbil (Gerbillus maghrebi), 101. Occidental Gerbil (Gerbillus occiduus), 102. Lesser Short-tailed Gerbil (Gerbillus simoni), 103. Sand Gerbil (Gerbullus syrticus), 104. Tarabul Gerbil (Gerbillus tarabuli), 105. Vivacious Gerbil (Gerbillus vivax), 106. Waters’s Gerbil (Gerbillus watersi), 107. Agag Gerbil (Gerbillus agag), 108. Lowe’s Gerbil (Gerbillus lower), 109. Mauritanian Gerbil (Gerbillus mauritaniae), 110. Darfur Gerbil (Gerbillus muriculus), 111. Sudan Gerbil (Gerbillus nancillus)

Subspecies and Distribution. G.a.agagThomas,1903—Mali,SNiger,NNigeria,extremeNCameroon,WCChad,SWSudan,extremeSESouthSudan,andWKenya. G.a.maradiusKock,1978—knownonlyfromthetypelocalityinextremeSNiger. G. a. sudanensis Setzer, 1956 — NC & NE Sudan.