Gerbillinae is one of the subfamilies of the rodent family Muridae and includes the gerbils, jirds, and sand rats. Once known as desert rats, the subfamily includes about 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all of which are adapted to arid habitats. Most are primarily active during the day, making them diurnal[1] (but some species, including the common household pet, exhibit crepuscular behavior), and almost all are omnivorous.
The gerbil got its name as a diminutive form of "jerboa", an unrelated group of rodents occupying a similar ecological niche. Gerbils are typically between 150 and 300 mm (6 and 12 in) long, including the tail, which makes up about half of their total length. One species, the great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus), originally native to Turkmenistan, can grow to more than 400 mm (16 in). The average adult gerbil weighs about 70 grams (2+1⁄2 ounces).
One species, the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), also known as the clawed jird, is a gentle and hardy animal that has become a popular small house pet. It is also used in some scientific research.
^"Gerbillinae (gerbils, jirds, and relatives)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
Gerbillinae is one of the subfamilies of the rodent family Muridae and includes the gerbils, jirds, and sand rats. Once known as desert rats, the subfamily...
jird (Meriones unguiculatus) is a rodent belonging to the subfamily Gerbillinae. Their body size is typically 110–135 mm (4+1⁄4–5+1⁄4 in), with a 95–120 mm...
Rodents are animals that gnaw with two continuously growing incisors. Forty percent of mammal species are rodents, and they inhabit every continent except...
hamsters (subfamily Calomyscinae, family Calomyscidae), gerbils (subfamily Gerbillinae, family Muridae), the crested rat (subfamily Lophiomyinae, family Muridae)...
dictionary. Desert Rat or desert rat or its plural may refer to: Gerbils (Gerbillinae) of the deserts of Africa and Asia Kangaroo rats (Dipodomys) from North...
Chiromyscus; and saltatorial, bipedal species such as Notomys and possibly some Gerbillinae. The East African maned rat (Lophiomys imhausi), an arboreal, porcupine-like...
Evidence that the Spiny Mouse (Acomys) is More Closely Related to Gerbils (Gerbillinae) Than to True Mice (Murinae)". Proceedings of the National Academy of...
suggested, with limited support, Leimacomys is a sister taxon to the Gerbillinae. Musser and Carleton chose to erect a new subfamily, Leimacomyinae, to...
Martin; Daly, Sandra (1975). "Behavior of Psammomys obesus (Rodents: Gerbillinae) in the Algerian Sahara". Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie. 37 (3): 298–321...
evidence that the spiny mouse (Acomys) is more closely related to gerbils (Gerbillinae) than to true mice (Murinae)". Proceedings of the National Academy of...
M. flynni Chandigarh A rat Tatera T. pinjoricus T. sp. Chandigarh A Gerbillinae Punjabitherium P. platyrhinum Punjab A Rhinoceros Sivatherium S. giganteum...
v t e Extant species of subfamily Gerbillinae Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordate Class: Mammalia Superorder: Euarchontoglires Order: Rodentia Family:...
Otomyinae Genus: Otomys Western vlei rat, Otomys occidentalis VU Subfamily: Gerbillinae Genus: Desmodilliscus Pouched gerbil, Desmodilliscus braueri LC Genus:...
(2018). Notes on the distribution and phylogeography of two rare small Gerbillinae (Rodentia, Muridae) in Morocco: Gerbillus simoni and Gerbillus henleyi...
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