The hairy-footed gerbil (''Gerbillurus paeba'') is a species of

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 ...

found in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s are dry

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

, temperate

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...

, hot

desert 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 la ...

s, sandy shores, and

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

s. All members of this genus have hair on the soles of their feet, hence the name. They prefer sandy soil or sandy

alluvium Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

with grass, scrub or light woodland cover.

Description

The hairy-footed gerbil weighs around , smaller than other ''

Gerbillurus ''Gerbillurus'' is a genus of rodent in the family Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are either the largest or second-largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 870 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbi ...

'' species. They have a head-and-body length of around , and a tail length of . Distinctive to this genus are the soles of the feet, which have hair tufts on them, and hairs on each toe. The coloring of the paeba is similar to other ''

'' members. However, coloring varies with precise locality and population. The upper parts of the body are reddish-orange to a greyish-red, whereas other ''

'' members may be a bit darker. The underparts are always white and the tail is the same color as the upper body parts.

Habitat

The hairy-footed gerbil is a species of

found in

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

, and

. Its natural

s are dry

, temperate

, hot

s, sandy shores, and

s. It is a

nocturnal Nocturnality is a ethology, behavior in some non-human animals characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnality, diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatur ...

species that lives in burrows with several entrances. It is also

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth, as opposed to extraterrestrial. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on o ...

, the entrances to its burrow hidden at the base of bushes and in clumps of grass. ''Gerbillus paebus'' feeds on the grass and bushes surrounding them, and they gnaw on the fallen and dried seed pods of thorn trees, and the seeds of the raisin bush. They also feed on insects.

Behaviour

The hairy-footed gerbil engages in social grooming, where one gerbil lies down and another stands over it and grooms. Other normal grooming habits include scratching,

face washing Face washing, also known as facial cleanliness or face cleansing, is a form of washing in order remove dirt, germs, oil, debris, and any unwanted materials on the face, possibly with the use of soap or cleansing agent and water. These dirt or unwan ...

, licking and tail cleaning, and sand bathing.

History

''Gerbillurus paeba''’s name come from the French name for a small mouse, gerbille. The specific name, paeba comes from the local language Twsana name for mouse.

References

* Gerbillurus Rodents of Africa Mammals described in 1836 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Gerbillinae-stub