Dunn's gerbil (''Gerbillus dunni'') is a rodent species distributed mainly in Eritrea,

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, Somaliland and

Djibouti Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...

. It is an animal of dry grassland and rocky plains. It is also sometimes called the "Somalia gerbil", not to be confused with the Somalian gerbil or the Somali gerbil. Dunn's gerbil was first described by the British zoologist Oldfield Thomas as ''Gerbillus dunni'' in 1904. Its karyotype is 2n=74. Its natural habitat is not under threat and 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 nat ...

has assessed its conservation status 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 ...

Description

Dunn's gerbil is one of eight very similar species of gerbil native to northeastern Africa, the others being

Berbera gerbil The Berbera gerbil (''Gerbillus acticola'') is distributed mainly in Somalia, but its range may extend into Ethiopia and Djibouti. It is endemic to the Ethiopian xeric grasslands and shrublands ecoregion. Description The Berbera gerbil has an a ...

(''G. acticola''), Brockman's gerbil (''G. brockmani''), cushioned gerbil (''G. pulvinatus''), Harwood's gerbil (''Dipodillus harwoodi''), least gerbil ''G. pusillus'', Somalian gerbil ''Dipodillus somalicus'' and Waters's gerbil (''G. watersi''). Dunn's gerbil can be distinguished from the others by the hairy soles to its hind feet. The head-and-body length is about and the tail . The mass is about .

Distribution

Dunn's gerbil is native to the Horn of Africa. Its range includes Eritrea, Djibouti, eastern Ethiopia and northern Somalia. Its typical habitat is bare or scantily-vegetated, rocky plains, dry grassland and dry

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland- grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

Status

Dunn's gerbil is present in a large area of suitable habitat. No particular threats have been identified and the population is believed to be steady, and although it is seldom seen, its population is presumed to be large. The

has rated its conservation status as being of "

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q306916 Gerbillus Rodents of Africa Mammals of Djibouti Mammals of Ethiopia Mammals of Somalia Mammals described in 1904 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas