The thick-tailed pygmy jerboa (''Salpingotus crassicauda'') is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and temperate

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

. It is threatened by habitat loss. It is listed by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

as being "least concern".

Description

This species grows to a head-and-body length of around with a slightly longer tail. The head is large and the eyes small, the ears are short and tubular and the tail may have a thickening near the base where fat is deposited. These jerboas get most of their water intake from the food that they consume, however they will drink water if they can find it.

Behaviour

The thick-tailed pygmy jerboa is a solitary nocturnal animal. It has a permanent burrow with many passages which may extend for . The entrances are sealed with loose plugs of sand and if the jerboa is spotted in the open by a predator it attempts to bury itself in the sand. Predators include owls,

mountain weasel The mountain weasel (''Mustela altaica''), also known as the pale weasel, Altai weasel or ''solongoi'', primarily lives in high-altitude environments, as well as rocky tundra and grassy woodlands. This weasel rests in rock crevices, tree trunks, ...

s (''Mustela altaica''), marbled polecats (''Vormela peregusna'') and

red fox The red fox (''Vulpes vulpes'') is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe ...

es (''Vulpes vulpes''). This jerboa feeds on small invertebrates such as grasshoppers and spiders and also some vegetable matter, mostly seeds. Reproduction takes place in the spring and summer when litters of two to five young are born.

Status

The thick-tailed pygmy jerboa varies in its spatial distribution and its populations are subject to large fluctuations. Threats it faces include predators, droughts, overgrazing of its habitat, destruction of its burrows and road kill. Insufficient evidence is available for the International Union for Conservation of Nature to assess its conservation status so it is 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 ...

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1770274 Salpingotus Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Mammals described in 1924