The great jerboa (''Allactaga major'') is a species of

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

in the family

Dipodidae Jerboas (from ar, جربوع ') are hopping desert Rodent, rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia, and are members of the family Dipodidae. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are pre ...

. It is found in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

and

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. It mainly lives in deserts. Allactaga major 1

Description

The great jerboa is the biggest of all species of jerboa. The length of its body is 180 mm and its tail is 260 mm.

Distribution and habitat

The great jerboa is native to the steppes and northern deserts of western Ukraine and European Russia, through Kazakhstan and northern Uzbekistan to eastern Siberia and western Xinjiang, China. Its typical habitat is sparse grassland, sloping areas in ravines, road verges and field edges. It is also present in a range of arid and semi-arid habitats, particularly those with some succulent plant growth. The great jerboa prefers ground that is made up of clay.

Behaviour

The great jerboa has three types of burrows, permanent ones for summer and winter and temporary retreats. It likes to eat the bulbs of plants. The plant bulbs it most commonly eats are the bulbs of ''

Gagea ''Gagea'' is a large genus of spring flowers in the lily family. It is found primarily in Eurasia with a few species extending into North Africa and one species (''Gagea serotina'') in North America. The genus is named after the English natur ...

''. To get to the bulbs the great jerboa uses its teeth. This allows it to dig out the bulb. Other foods this animal will eat, but less commonly, are grains and bark. It hibernates from the first frosts until the spring and it is common for several great jerboas to hibernate together in one nest. Breeding takes place in late spring and summer during which time there may be two litters, each of about three to six young.

Status

The great jerboa has a very wide range and over much of that range is common in suitable habitat. However it is threatened in Ukraine and European Russia by intensification of agriculture and other alterations to its habitat. It has become extinct in the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

district where

dacha A dacha ( rus, дача, p=ˈdatɕə, a=ru-dacha.ogg) is a seasonal or year-round second home, often located in the exurbs of post-Soviet countries, including Russia. A cottage (, ') or shack serving as a family's main or only home, or an outbu ...

s have been built and other man-made alterations have occurred to the landscape. 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 ...

have listed it as being of "

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

" but thinks populations should continue to be monitored.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1768304 Allactaga Mammals of Russia Mammals of Central Asia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Mammals described in 1792