baluchistan pygmy jerboa

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Family: Dipodidae

Order: Rodentia

Genus: Salpingotlus

Species: Salipingotulus michaelis

Evolution

Subspecies: Salpingotus crassicauda,  Salpingotus heptneri,  Salpingotus kozlovi,  Salpingotus pallidus,  Salpingotus thomasi

Existence: Middle Miocene Epoch (16.4 million-11.2 million years ago)

Closest Living Relative: Salpingotus crassicauda (Thick Tailed Pygmy Jerboa)

Ancestors: Kangaroo rats, Jumping Mice, Birch Mice

Description

Physical Description: Cotton ball like body with a rats tail and very large ears. They also look very similar to kangaroos

Key Characteristics: large ears, round body, large black eyes, extremely large feet, tail that is around double their body length, light brown or tan top with a white belly

Size

Body: 1.7 inches

Tail: 3 inches

Weight: >.15 ounces

Habitat

Dry deserts with small bushes and plants adapted for living in the desert some other animals that liver here are snakes, Monitor lizards, and sand cats as well as other species of jerboas. The temperatures are typically hot but can get very cold at times. The terrain of these deserts is usually sand dunes, gravel flats, and plains.

Distribution

The Baluchistan Pygmy Jerboa is found throughout Africa and some parts of Asia

They are not considered invasive in any countries although the are banned to own as pets in some countries

Diet

These jerboas feed on many thing such as desert plants, seeds, and small insects. It eats whenever it can find food which isn't very hard as they will eat almost anything that can fit in  their mouth. It gets it's food by either gathering windblown seeds, eating any plants they come by, digging up plant roots, or hunting for small insects. There are no special foods as these are a very opportunistic feeder.

Social Structure

The Baluchistan Pygmy Jerboa is primarily a solitary animal but the y do come together in pairs to mate. The only real interaction they have with one another is during the mating season.

Reproduction

These animals reproduce 2-3 times a year and this mate is usually always different. The mating season is usually during the summer and a female usually gives birth to 2-6 young.

Development

Right after birth these jerboas are blind and hairless, the hind legs don't develop until they are 8 weeks old and it takes another 3 weeks before they can jump. They are sexually mature and typically leave the nest at this time in search of their own home and they can live for up to 6 years.

Causes of Death

Not much is known about these animals but predation from Leaf-Nosed Vipers, trans-Caspian Monitor lizards, and Sand cats are thought to be the main cause of death for these animals

Competition

Once again not much is known about these animals but they do have to compete for a mate during mating season and also for food if it's really scarce most of their competition is inter-species although they do have to compete with other species of jerboas and small rodents for food at times

IUCN Rating

There is no rating on these animals because of a lack of data but many of the other species of jerboas are least concern and I would assume that would carry over to these. The population and any potential trends are not known

Impact of Humans

There isn't a major human impact being an animal that lives mainly underground in the desert and also only being discovered recently but climate change and global warming would definitely affect them as it may deplete their food sources and make it to hot for them to survive. Another potential human impact is the pet industry, many people keep Jerboas as pets as they are a very funny and cute animal