Meriones crassus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	MAMMALIA	RODENTIA	MURIDAE

Scientific Name:

Meriones crassus

Species Authority:

Sundevall, 1842

Common Name/s:

English

–

Sundevall's Jird

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2008

Assessor/s:

Aulagnier, S., Granjon, L., Amori, G., Hutterer, R., Kryštufek, B. & Yigit, N.

Reviewer/s:

Amori, G. (Small Nonvolant Mammal Red List Authority) & Temple, H. (Global Mammal Assessment Team)

Contributor/s:

Justification:
M. crassus is common and widespread and is therefore assessed as Least Concern.

History:

2004

–

Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Meriones crassus occurs across north Africa from Morocco to Egypt south to Sudan; also in Asia through the Arabian Peninsula north to Turkey and east to western Pakistan. There are also records of this species from Niger and the headwaters of the Nile, Sudan. The species also possibly occurs in Mali (L. Granjon and S. Aulagnier pers. comm.).
Countries:	Native: Afghanistan; Algeria; Bahrain; Egypt; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kuwait; Libya; Morocco; Niger; Oman; Pakistan; Saudi Arabia; Sudan; Syrian Arab Republic; Tunisia; Turkey; United Arab Emirates; Western Sahara
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	It is a common species.
Population Trend:	Unknown

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	A nocturnal species (Amr 2000), prefering dry habitats in sandy or hammada deserts, and absent from mountain areas with a Mediterranean climate, where it inhabits burrows. It can be gregarious or solitary (Shenbrot et al. 2002). The species feeds on various plant species and dung from camels and donkeys; desert locusts and crickets amongst other insects are also eaten. Foraging can take place up to 10 km from the burrow. The breeding season occurs from November to June, gestation lasts upto 31 days and one to five young are born (mean 3.3) (Qumsiyeh 1996). The causative agent for Leishmaniasis has been isolated from this species in Jordan (Amr 2000). The species' peak elevation is under 1,000 m. A habitat generalist in deserts, not found in rocky microhabitats.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Habitat and Ecology:

A nocturnal species (Amr 2000), prefering dry habitats in sandy or hammada deserts, and absent from mountain areas with a Mediterranean climate, where it inhabits burrows. It can be gregarious or solitary (Shenbrot et al. 2002). The species feeds on various plant species and dung from camels and donkeys; desert locusts and crickets amongst other insects are also eaten. Foraging can take place up to 10 km from the burrow. The breeding season occurs from November to June, gestation lasts upto 31 days and one to five young are born (mean 3.3) (Qumsiyeh 1996). The causative agent for Leishmaniasis has been isolated from this species in Jordan (Amr 2000). The species' peak elevation is under 1,000 m. A habitat generalist in deserts, not found in rocky microhabitats.

Systems:

Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	There are no major threats to this species.

Major Threat(s):

There are no major threats to this species.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Found in many protected areas.

Conservation Actions:

Found in many protected areas.

Citation:	Aulagnier, S., Granjon, L., Amori, G., Hutterer, R., Kryštufek, B. & Yigit, N. 2008. Meriones crassus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 June 2013.
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