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| Fat-tailed gerbil | |
|---|---|
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| A pair of duprasi gerbils | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Pachyuromys Lataste, 1880 |
| Species: | P. duprasi |
| Binomial name | |
| Pachyuromys duprasi Lataste, 1880 | |
Thefat-tailed gerbil (Pachyuromys duprasi), also called theduprasi gerbil ordoop, is arodent belonging to thesubfamilyGerbillinae. It isonly species in thegenusPachyuromys. They are frequently kept as pets.
Other common English names are:fat-tailed jird,fat-tailed rat, andbeer mat gerbil.[2][3]
The fat-tailed gerbil is a medium-sized gerbil. Its body length is about 10 cm (3.9 in), with a tail length of about 5 cm (2.0 in). The hair at the back and the head is yellow-coloured, with a dark grey base and a small black tip. The belly is white. Fat-tailed gerbils weigh between 22 and 45 grams (0.78 and 1.59 oz) in the wild,[4] but in captivity can weigh between 55 and 82 grams (1.9 and 2.9 oz).[5] Their body is round and somewhat flattened. They have no clear neck and a very sharp face, with large oval-shaped black eyes. They look similar to a dwarfhamster, but unlike a hamster they have a pointed snout and a fat, almost bald, club-shaped tail. The fat-tailed gerbilstores fat in its tail in the same way that thecamel stores fat in its hump.
Captive specimens of the fat-tailed gerbil have an average life span of between 2 and 4 years.[6]
The FrenchzoologistFernand Lataste first describedPachyuromys duprasi in 1880 inLaghouat,Algeria inLe Naturaliste.
Fat-tailed gerbils are native to the NorthernSahara (North-westernEgypt,Libya,Tunisia, andAlgeria). There they live in sparsely vegetated sand sheets or rockydeserts. In the wild, fat-tailed gerbils live in simple burrows about one meter deep, in hard sandy soil. They may also occupy other species' burrows.[7]
Fat-tailed gerbils are mostlyinsectivorous in the wild, but will eat also a variety of plants.[7] In captivity, they are kept on a basic rodent mix, and are fond ofmealworms,crickets,moths, and almost any otherinsect, evenbeetles. They can also be given somevegetables andfruit, like carrots, cauliflower, chicory, and apples.
Wild fat-tailed gerbils are solitary animals, and sometimes live in colonies. In the wild, fat-tailed gerbils become active at dusk and this is the same in captivity - although they can sometimes appear to bediurnal.[7] When they fight, they shriek loudly and bite each other's tails.[8] The mating ritual of the fat-tailed gerbil may also be confused with fighting.
Fat-tailed gerbils, like most other rodents, havescent glands on their stomach and engage in marking theirterritory by stretching out and rubbing their bellies on the ground and furnishings.
Fat-tailed gerbils sexually mature when they are around two months old, and the gestation period is 19 to 21 days. Their averagelitter size is three to six, and the pups are weaned at three to four weeks.
