 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (November 2020) |
| Gobi jerboa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Dipodidae |
| Genus: | Allactaga |
| Subgenus: | Orientallactaga |
| Species: | A. bullata
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| Binomial name | |
| Allactaga bullata G. M. Allen, 1925
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The Gobi jerboa (Allactaga bullata) is a species of rodent in the family Dipodidae. It is found in China and Mongolia. Its natural habitats are temperate grassland and temperate desert.
The Gobi jerboa was discovered in 1925 by Glover Morrill Allen. It is found in the Gobi Desert located in northern and northwestern China, as well as in southern Mongolia, and is considered to be the most “desert loving” out of all Gobi rodents (Smith and Xie 2008). Allen first examined an adult male Gobi jerboa from Tsagan Nor, Outer Mongolia, which was collected on July 5, 1922 by the Central Asiatic Expeditions and housed at the American Museum of Natural History (Allen 1925). Allen further compared the subspecies Allactaga sibirica annulata and Allactaga sibirica sibirica, to the Gobi jerboa because they are all sympatric. Allen examined forty specimens collected from different regions of Mongolia, and found that while the Gobi jerboa was similar in color and appearance to A. sibirica annulata, by exhibiting the same grayer and buffier phases, the Gobi jerboa has shorter and broader ears, smaller hind feet, and a much larger globular audital bullae (nearly three times the size), which differentiates it from A. sibirica annulata. The Gobi jerboa was differentiated from A. sibirica sibirica because of its enlarged and globular auditory bullae, and its nearly vertical upper incisors (Allen 1925). Today, there have been 163 recorded occurrences of the Gobi jerboa, however there is currently no known data that examines its population status (The Global Biodiversity Information Facility 2013 and Batsaikhan et al. 2008).
- ^ Batsaikhan, N.; Avirmed, D.; Shar, S. & Smith, A.T. (2017) [errata version of 2016 assessment]. "Allactaga bullata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T852A115052658. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T852A22201602.en. Retrieved 19 February 2022.