Allactaga

Allactaga
Temporal range: Late Miocene - Recent
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Dipodidae
Subfamily: Allactaginae
Genus: Allactaga
F. Cuvier, 1836
Type species
Mus jaculus[1]
Species

Allactaga balikunica
Allactaga bullata
Allactaga firouzi
Allactaga hotsoni
Allactaga major
Allactaga severtzovi
Allactaga sibirica
Allactaga toussi

The genus Allactaga contains the five-toed jerboas of Asia.[2] They are small mammals belonging to the order of rodents.[3][4] They are characteristically known as the hopping rodents of the desert and semi-arid regions. They have long hind feet, short forelimbs, and walk upright.[5] They have large ears in comparison to their body size and a large tail. The tail assists and serves as support when the jerboa is standing upright.[6] The jerboa body length ranges from 5–15 cm and has a tail ranging from 7–25 cm.[7] The "forelimbs of the jerboa serve as a pair of hands for feeding, grooming, etc."[8] Jerboas use their nose to burrow and push the dirt when looking for food.[9] The male jerboa is usually larger in size and weight in comparison to the female jerboa.[10] The pelt of the jerboa is either silky or velvety in texture and light in color,[9] the coloration helps camouflage into surroundings to avoid predators. All members of the genus have five toes.

  1. ^ Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
  2. ^ Holden, M. E. and G. G. Musser. 2005. Family Dipodidae. pp. 871–893 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder eds. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore.
  3. ^ Duff, A. and A. Lawson. 2004. Mammals of the World A Checklist. New Haven, Yale University Press.
  4. ^ Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London.
  5. ^ Lagassé, Paul. "Jerboa." The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. New York: Columbia UP, 2000. Academic Search Premier. Web. 1 October 2013.
  6. ^ Kirmiz, John P. Adaptation to Desert Environment; A Study on the Jerboa, Rat and Man. London: Butterworths, 1962. 17. Print.
  7. ^ "Jerboa (rodent)" Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 12 October 2013.
  8. ^ Kirmiz, John P. Adaptation to Desert Environment; A Study on the Jerboa, Rat and Man. London: Butterworths, 1962. 29. Print.
  9. ^ a b Miljutin, Andrei. "Trends of Specialisation in Rodents: The Five-Toed Jerboas, Subfamily Allactaginae (Dipodoidea, Rodentia)." Acta Zoologica Lituanica 18.4 (2008): 228-39. Taylor & Francis Online. 23 July 2012. Web. 7 October 2013.
  10. ^ Kirmiz, John P. Adaptation to Desert Environment; A Study on the Jerboa, Rat and Man. London: Butterworths, 1962. 19. Print.