Fat-tailed Gerbil
| Pachyuromys | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Subfamily: | Gerbillinae |
| Genus: |
Pachyuromys Lataste, 1880 |
| Species: | P. duprasi |
| Binomial name | |
|
Pachyuromys duprasi Lataste, 1880 |
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Pachyuromys duprasi is a rodent belonging to subfamily Gerbillinae. It is the only member of the genus Pachyuromys. These rodents are the most docile species of the Gerbil subfamily. Often called the fat-tailed gerbil or duprasi gerbil. Other common English names: fat-tailed jird, fat-tailed rat, beer mat gerbil. Names in other languages: abu lya (أبو ليه) in Egyptian Arabic, and adhal alyan (عضل أليان) in Standard Arabic,souris à grosse queue (French), Fettschwanzrennmaus (German), fedthale mus (Danish), rasvahäntägerbiili (Finnish), dikstaartgerbil (Dutch). They have a fluffy and soft fur. Fat-tailed gerbils are very new on the pet market.
The fat-tailed gerbil is a medium-sized gerbil. Its body length is about 10 cm (4”), with a tail length of about 5 cm (2”). This gerbil has a thick, soft, fluffy coat. The hair at the back and the head is yellow-coloured, with a dark grey basis and a small black tip. The belly is clear white. Fat-tailed gerbils weigh about 40 grams. Their body is round and somewhat flattened. They have no clear neck and a very sharp face, with large oval-shaped black eyes. The ears of this species are low positioned, which gives this species a fox-like head. The legs are comparatively short for a gerbil. They look similar to a hamster, but unlike a hamster they have a pointed snout and a fat, almost bald, club-shaped tail from which they gets their common name of 'fat-tailed gerbil'. The fat-tailed gerbil stores fat and water in its tail, in the same way that the camel stores fat in its hump. Therefore, a healthy fat-tailed gerbil should have a nicely rounded tail. It is this tail which makes them easy to distinguish from all other gerbil species.
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Wikipedia