The tamarisk jird or tamarisk gerbil (''Meriones tamariscinus'') is a species of rodent in the family

Muridae The Muridae, or murids, are the largest family of rodents and of mammals, containing approximately 1,383 species, including many species of mice, rats, and gerbils found naturally throughout Eurasia, Africa, and Australia. The name Muridae come ...

. It is found in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. It prefers habitats with grass or shrub cover. Tamarisk jirds are relatively large in size (an adult can weigh 100 - 140 g). They are poorly adapted for digestion of cellulose and mainly feed on plant sources such as young leaves, and require large amounts of water. The tamarisk jird is a

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

animal and is also a strictly solitary animal. Males usually occupy larger home ranges compared to females, and interactions between individuals are very rare. Tamarisk jirds breed between March to October, usually producing 2 - 3 litters. Young jirds first emerge from their burrows between May to June, and they quickly disperse, rarely interacting with their siblings and mother. Tamarisk jirds reach sexual maturity at 70 days, but young males do not mate in their first year of age. For young females, less than half have been observed to breed in their first year of age, and this delay has been proposed to be associated with their delay in migration from their birth site.

References

* Mammals described in 1773 Meriones (rodent) Mammals of Central Asia Mammals of Mongolia Mammals of Russia Rodents of China Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Meriones-stub