The fat-tailed gerbil (''Pachyuromys duprasi''), also called the duprasi gerbil or doop, is a

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

belonging to the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Gerbillinae. It is only species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Pachyuromys''. They are frequently kept as pets. Other common English names are: fat-tailed jird, fat-tailed rat, and beer mat gerbil.

Description

The fat-tailed gerbil is a medium-sized gerbil. Its body length is about , with a tail length of about . The hair at the back and the head is yellow-coloured, with a dark grey base and a small black tip. The belly is white. Fat-tailed gerbils weigh between in the wild, but in captivity can weigh between . Their body is round and somewhat flattened. They have no clear neck and a very sharp face, with large oval-shaped black eyes. They look similar to a dwarf

hamster Hamsters are rodents (order Rodentia) belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae, which contains 19 species classified in seven genera. They have become established as popular small pets. The best-known species of hamster is the golden or Syrian ...

, but unlike a hamster they have a pointed snout and a fat, almost bald, club-shaped tail. The fat-tailed gerbil stores fat in its tail in the same way that the

camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

stores fat in its hump. Captive specimens of the fat-tailed gerbil have an average life span of between 2 and 4 years.

Distribution

The French

zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...

Fernand Lataste first described ''Pachyuromys duprasi'' in 1880 in Laghouat,

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in . Fat-tailed gerbils are native to the Northern

Sahara The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...

(North-western

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, and

). There they live in sparsely vegetated sand sheets or rocky

deserts A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the l ...

. In the wild, fat-tailed gerbils live in simple burrows about one meter deep, in hard sandy soil. They may also occupy other species' burrows.

Diet

Fat-tailed gerbils are mostly insectivorous in the wild, but will eat also a variety of plants. In captivity, they are kept on a basic rodent mix, and are fond of

mealworms Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, ''Tenebrio molitor'', a species of darkling beetle. The yellow mealworm beetle prefers a warmer climate and higher humidity. Male mealworm beetles release a sex pheromone to attr ...

, crickets, moths, and almost any other

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

, even

beetle Beetles are insects that form the Taxonomic rank, order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Holometabola. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 40 ...

s. They can also be given some

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

, like carrots, cauliflower, chicory, and apples.

Behavior

Wild fat-tailed gerbils are solitary animals, and sometimes live in colonies. In the wild, fat-tailed gerbils become active at dusk and this is the same in captivity - although they can sometimes appear to be diurnal. When they fight, they shriek loudly and bite each other's tails. The mating ritual of the fat-tailed gerbil may also be confused with fighting. Fat-tailed gerbils, like most other rodents, have scent glands on their stomach and engage in marking their

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

by stretching out and rubbing their bellies on the ground and furnishings.

Breeding

Fat-tailed gerbils sexually mature when they are around two months old, and the gestation period is 19 to 21 days. Their average

litter Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. The waste is objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, food wrappers, cardboard boxes or plastic bottles, but ...

size is three to six, and the pups are weaned at three to four weeks.

References

* * Cope, E. Duprasi. e-gerbil. Accessed October 11, 2005 at https://web.archive.org/web/20070122210738/http://www.sensi-media.com/gerbil/duprasi.htm * Maas, P. 2004
"Fat-tailed Gerbil Page"
(On-line), The Mongolian Gerbil Website. Retrieved October 11, 2005. * Barker, S. 2004

External links

Overview of Fat-tailed Gerbils
{{DEFAULTSORT:gerbil, fat-tailed fat-tailed gerbil Rodents of North Africa Fauna of the Sahara fat-tailed gerbil Taxa named by Fernand Lataste