Meriones zarudnyi, Heptner, 1937
publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6887260 |
DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6868241 |
persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1E30E275-3409-FFB8-E49D-24087D0A8F6D |
treatment provided by |
Carolina |
scientific name |
Meriones zarudnyi |
status |
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Zarudny’s Jird
French: Mérione de Zarudny / German: Zarudny-Rennratte / Spanish: Gerbillo de Zarudny
Taxonomy. Meriones zarudnyi Heptner, 1937 View in CoL ,
Kushka, Turkmenistan.
Meriones zarudnyi was considered a race of M. crassus , but in 1967 D. M. Lay, after studying more specimens from Afghani- stan, described its characteristics as distinct from those of both M. crassus and M. tristrami . This opinion was later followed by G. B. Corbet in 1978 and I. Ya. Pavlinov and colleagues in 1990. Monotypic.
Distribution. NE Iran, S Turkmenistan, and N Afghanistan. View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head-body 155 mm, tail 160 mm, ear 20 mm, hindfoot 30 mm (single individual). No specific weight data are available. A large Jird with tail longer than head-body. Underbelly white. Upper part of the tail light gray and its lower part yellowish, the tuft ofthe tail is well developed and its proximal part is off-white in both the upper and lower areas and the extremity short, dark brown to maroon dark yellow. The sole of hindfootis hairy and the heel is bare.
Habitat. Not well known, but probably dry and arid habitats.
Food and Feeding. Zarudny’s Jird is probably omnivorous like other members of genus, with preference for seeds and plant material.
Breeding. No information.
Activity patterns. Zarudny’s Jird is probably nocturnal and terrestrial, digging burrows.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List.
Bibliography. Corbet (1978), Gromov & Erbajeva (1995), Hassinger (1973), Lay (1967), Pavlinov et al. (1990).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.