Four-toed jerboa

The four-toed jerboa (Allactaga tetradactyla) is a rodent of the family Dipodidae and genus Allactaga that has four digits. It is the sole species in the subgenus Scarturus. Four-toed jerboas are native to Egypt and Libya. They live in coastal salt marshes and dry deserts.

Four-toed jerboa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Dipodidae
Genus: Allactaga
Subgenus: Scarturus
Gloger, 1841
Species:
A. tetradactyla
Binomial name
Allactaga tetradactyla
Geographic range

Physical appearance

Similar to the other jerboas in the genus Allactaga, the four-toed jerboa are small hopping rodents with large ears and a long tail with a black band near the white, feathery tip. The tail assists and serves as support when the jerboa is standing upright.[2] They have long hind feet and short forelegs.[3] The pelt of the four-toed jerboa is velvety in texture and the upper-parts are speckled black and orange, the rump orange, and the sides gray. The four-toed jerboa hind-limbs have an extra digit compared to other jerboas in the genus Allactaga. The extra digit is smaller in size and nonfunctional compared to the other three digits.[4]

Nutrition

Emerging at night, the four-toed jerboa eats grass, leaves, and soft seeds.[5] The low crown molars and soft palates help the Four-toed Jerboa chew plant material and seeds.[6]

The Four-toed jerboa is a host of the Acanthocephalan intestinal parasite Moniliformis aegyptiacus.[7]

Conservation status

The four-toed jerboa was listed as an animal on the Endangered Species List by the IUCN Red List. They are facing a very high risk of extinction due to habitat loss and restricted range.

References
  1. Gerrie, R. & Kennerley, R. 2017. Allactaga tetradactyla. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2017: e.T850A22201540. http://iucnredlist.org/details/850/0. Downloaded on 16 September 2017.
  2. Kirmiz, John P. Adaptation to Desert Environment; A Study on the Jerboa, Rat and Man. London: Butterworths, 1962. 17. Print.
  3. Lagassé, Paul. "Jerboa." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. New York: Columbia UP, 2000. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 Oct. 2013.
  4. Shahin, A (2005). "Growth and Maturation of Metatarsals and Their Taxonomic Significance in the Jerboas Allactaga and Jaculus (Rodentia: Dipodidae)". Acta. 86 (2): 82.
  5. Holden, M. E. and G. G. Musser. 2005. Family Dipodidae. pp. 871–893 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore
  6. Basyouny Shahin, Adel (1999). "A Comparative Study of the Molar and Soft Palate Characters of the Genera Allactaga and Jaculus (Mammalia: Rodentia) in Egypt". Zoology in the Middle East. 18 (1): 17–32. doi:10.1080/09397140.1999.10637779.
  7. Guerreiro Martins, Natalia Beatriz; Del Rosario Robles, María; Navone, Graciela Teresa (2017). "A new species of Moniliformis from a Sigmodontinae rodent in Patagonia (Argentina)". Parasitology Research. 116 (8): 2091–2099. doi:10.1007/s00436-017-5508-9. PMID 28585077. Retrieved February 9, 2020.


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