Taterillus arenarius, Robbins, 1974

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 : 622

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Robbins’s Tateril

Taterillus arenarius

French: Gerbille de Robbins / German: Mauretanien-Taterillus / Spanish: Gerbillo de Robbins

Other common names: Sahel Gerbil, Sand Tateril

Taxonomy. Taterillus arenarius Robbins, 1974 ,

Tiguent, Trarza Region, Mauritania.

This poorly known species, nearly indistin- guishable from other West African species of the genus, has adistinct karyotype due to an X-autosomal translocation, as pointed out by V. T. Volobouev and L. Granjon in 1996 and G. Dobigny and team in 2005. Geometric morphometrics allow arelatively good level of distinction according to Dobigny and colleagues in 2002. Monotypic.

Distribution. Mauritania; possibly extends to Mali and Niger.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 113-142 mm, tail 141-155 mm, ear 20-23 mm, hindfoot 29-32 mm; weight 28-66 g. Robbins’s Tateril is a middle-sized gerbil-like rodent with pale sandy-yellow dorsal pelage and white venter. Soles of hindfeet are naked. Hairy tail is long (130-140% of head-body length) and has long terminal pencil of black to dark brown hairs. Females bear four pairs of mammae. Karyotype is 2n = 30 (females) and 31 (males).

Habitat. Sandy-clay arid zones of Sahelian region and sand dunes where rainfall is below 400 mm/year. Robbins’s Tateril can also be found in some cultivated fields.

Food and Feeding. Robbins’s Tateril is probably granivorous.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Robbins’s Tateril is nocturnal and terrestrial.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. Robbins’s Tateril has rarely been trapped and probably lives at low density and in low abundance.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.

Bibliography. Dobigny, Aniskin, Granjon et al. (2005), Dobigny, Baylac & Denys (2002), Granjon & Duplantier (2009), Granjon, Bruderer etal. (2002), Happold (2013a), Monadjem etal. (2015), Petter (1970), Robbins (1974), Volobouev & Granjon (1996).

Figures

Distribution. Mauritania; possibly extends to Mali and Niger.