Botta's gerbil (''Dipodillus bottai'') is a species of gerbil endemic to

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

and possibly northern

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. According to the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

, it was listed as Least Concern in 1996 until it was listed as

Data Deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...

in 2004. According to a 2013 book, it is known from a few specimens taken from four or five localities in a small area between the rivers

White Nile The White Nile ( ') is a river in Africa, the minor of the two main tributaries of the Nile, the larger being the Blue Nile. The name "White" comes from the clay sediment carried in the water that changes the water to a pale color. In the stri ...

and

Blue Nile The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major Tributary, tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the wa ...

; its habitat is fields of vegetables and cereals. Aside from this information, nothing else is known about the species including its population and threats.

Taxonomy

Botta's gerbil was first described by the French zoologist and herpetologist

Fernand Lataste Fernand Lataste (1847–1934) was a French zoologist and herpetologist born in Cadillac, Gironde. From 1880 to 1884, he collected reptiles and amphibians in North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco), publishing ''"Les missions scientifiques d ...

in 1882, he named it ''Gerbillus bottai''. It is known from a small number of locations in Sudan, between the

and the

to the south of

Khartoum Khartoum or Khartum is the capital city of Sudan as well as Khartoum State. With an estimated population of 7.1 million people, Greater Khartoum is the largest urban area in Sudan. Khartoum is located at the confluence of the White Nile – flo ...

, with some possible sightings in northern Kenya. It may form part of a

species complex In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

alongside the Khartoum gerbil (''Dipodillus stigmonyx''),

Harwood's gerbil Harwood's gerbil (''Gerbillus harwoodi'') is a species of rodent in the subfamily Gerbillinae. It is native to Kenya and Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lake ...

(''Dipodillus harwoodi''), and

Waters's gerbil Waters's gerbil (''Dipodillus watersi'') is distributed mainly in Sudan, Somalia, and Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest ...

(''Gerbillus watersi'') . However, ''D. harwoodi'' has a separate range in Kenya about to the south of the other three species and further investigation may elevate it to full species status.

Description

Botta's gerbil is a small species with sandy-brown upper parts with a blackish sheen, especially at the mid-line, and pure white underparts and limbs. The long tail is slightly bi-coloured, with dark hairs above and pale hairs below, the hairs at the tip forming a small tuft or pencil.

References

*Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 2005. Superfamily Muroidea. pp. 894–1531 ''in'' Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. {{Taxonbar, from=Q307911, from2=Q28133276 Endemic fauna of Sudan Dipodillus Rodents of Africa Mammals described in 1882 Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN