The Berbera gerbil (''Gerbillus acticola'') is distributed mainly in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

, but its range may extend into Ethiopia and Djibouti. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands The Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands ecoregion is a semi-desert strip on or near the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden coasts in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somaliland. This ecoregion lies mainly between sea level and 800 meters (m) eleva ...

ecoregion.

Description

The Berbera gerbil has an average head-and-body length of and a tail of . It is a small gerbil, the upper pars being sandy orange, the individual hairs having grey shafts and orange tips. The flanks are rather paler, the hairs being white with orange tips, and the underparts are pure white, with a clear demarcation line between the dorsal and ventral pelage. There is a white patch round the eye and the cheeks, chin, throat and feet are white. The soles of the feet are hairless. The long tail is sandy orange above and pale below, and has a narrow tuft of brown and white hairs at its tip. It is generally similar in size and appearance to the

greater Egyptian gerbil The greater Egyptian gerbil (''Gerbillus pyramidum'') is a small rodent in the family Muridae. It is native to northern Africa where it inhabits sandy deserts, semi-arid areas and oases. It is a common species, and the International Union for Co ...

(''Gerbillus pyramidum''), but they have different geographical ranges.

Distribution and habitat

The Berbera gerbil is

to the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. It is known from three locations in

Somaliland Somaliland,; ar, صوماليلاند ', ' officially the Republic of Somaliland,, ar, جمهورية صوماليلاند, link=no ''Jumhūrīyat Ṣūmālīlānd'' is a ''de facto'' sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still conside ...

, at

Berbera Berbera (; so, Barbara, ar, بربرة) is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It ...

, where the type specimen was found,

Bulhar Bulhar ( so, Bulaxaar) is a historic port town in the Sahil region of Somaliland with routes dating back to antiquity. The port was rejuvenated in the 19th century and was a rival to nearby Berbera. History Antiquity Bulhar is situated near Be ...

and

Burao Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao (; so, Burco, , ar, برعو) is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was also the third largest city of Somalia. Burao was the site of the declaration of an in ...

. Two of these locations were in the lowlands but the location near Burao was at . The precise habitat is not known, but collectors used such descriptions as "caught on sandy plain" and "caught by well".

Status

The Berbera gerbil is a little known species. Only a few individuals have been collected and its range is not clearly delineated. With little information as to its occurrence, status, ecological requirements and the threats it faces, the

International Union for Conservation of Nature 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 ...

has rated its conservation status as being "

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=Q306346 Gerbillus Endemic fauna of Somalia Mammals of Somalia Mammals of Djibouti Mammals of Eritrea Mammals of Ethiopia Mammals described in 1918 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas