The thick-tailed three-toed jerboa (''Stylodipus telum'') 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 ...

in the family

Dipodidae Jerboas () are the members of the family Dipodidae. They are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on by little owls ('' ...

. It is found in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, and

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. Its typical habitat is steppe, desert and mountain grassland where it is often found among

saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to ''Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...

and '' Artemisia'' in sandy or clayey soils.

Description

The thick-tailed three-toed jerboa grows to a length of with a tail as long again and a weight of . The crown of the head is dark-coloured but the rest of the coat is pale greyish-yellow with many longer guard hairs with blackish tips. A white band stretches across the hips and the flanks are straw-coloured with dark flecks.

Behaviour

The thick-tailed three-toed jerboa is nocturnal and is a solitary animal. It lives in a complex burrow system that may extend for two and a half metres, with many entrances each loosely blocked with a plug of soil. It also has shallow burrows within its home range which may be used by more than one individual and into which it can retreat. It feeds on green parts of plants, bulbs and seeds but does not store food for the winter. Females usually have two litters per year, each consisting of two to four young, one in spring and the other in autumn.

Status

The thick-tailed three-toed jerboa has a wide range and presumed large total population. The main threat it faces is conversion of the steppe to agricultural use. Its population size is believed to be in slow decline but 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 ...

has assessed its conservation status as being of "

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1762756 Stylodipus Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Mammals described in 1823 Taxa named by Hinrich Lichtenstein