Dipus
| Northern three-toed jerboa Temporal range: – Recent |
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| 'Die Saugtiere in Abbildungen nach der Natur | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Dipodidae |
| Subfamily: | Dipodinae |
| Tribe: | Dipodini |
| Genus: |
Dipus Zimmermann, 1780 |
| Species: | D. sagitta |
| Binomial name | |
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Dipus sagitta (Pallas, 1773) |
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The northern three-toed jerboa (Dipus sagitta) is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is monotypic within the genus Dipus. It ranges across Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, China and Mongolia. A common species, the International Union for Conservation of Nature rates it as being of "least concern".
The northern three-toed jerboa has a head-and-body length of 100 to 155 mm (4 to 6 in) and a tail of 145 to 190 mm (5.7 to 7.5 in). The weight is between 56 and 117 g (2 and 4 oz). The upper parts are ochre-brown to reddish-brown, a white band stretches from the base of the tail across the hips, and the underparts are white. The hind feet have three toes, the central three metatarsal bones having fused to form a single structure. They have long white hairs on their upper surfaces and pads of stiff hairs under the toes. The long tail has a terminal tassel which is black with a white tip.
This jerboa has a range extending from the Don River and the Caspian Sea region, through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Northern Iran and Kazakhstan, to Mongolia and Northern China. It lives in sandy deserts and semi-deserts, sandy pastures and pine forests on sandy ground. Although typically found between about 1,000 and 1,300 m (3,300 and 4,300 ft), it occurs as high as 3,000 m (10,000 ft) in the Altai Mountains.
The northern three-toed jerboa either lives alone or in pairs. It occupies an extensive home range in which there may be several burrows, several shallow temporary burrows and one main deep burrow. This has a steeply sloping main tunnel which then turns at an angle and ends in a nesting chamber, with several side chambers for the storage of food. The animal excavates the tunnel with its fore limbs, using its teeth to cut roots, and pushes soil out with its hind feet or nose, forming a characteristic fan-like mound of waste material. The burrow may be 2.5 m (8 ft) long and up to 1.5 m (5 ft) deep, and the animal can excavate passages at the rate of 40 cm (16 in) in ten minutes or so.
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Wikipedia