Williams's jerboa (''Scarturus williamsi'') is a species of

jerboa Jerboas () are the members of the family Dipodidae. They are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can run at up to . Some species are preyed on by little owls (''A ...

s native to

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Description

Similar to the other jerboas in the

Allactaga The genus ''Allactaga'' contains the five-toed jerboas of Asia. They are small mammals belonging to the order of rodents. They are characteristically known as the hopping rodents of the desert and semi-arid regions. They have long hind feet, shor ...

and

Scarturus ''Scarturus'' is a genus of rodent in the family Dipodidae Jerboas () are the members of the family Dipodidae. They are hopping desert rodents found throughout North Africa and Asia. They tend to live in hot deserts. When chased, jerboas can ...

genera, the Williams's Jerboa are small hopping rodents of desert regions and have large ears and a long tail. The tail assists and serves as support when the jerboa is standing upright. They have long hind feet and short forelegs. The forelimbs of the jerboa serve as a pair of hands for feeding, grooming, etc. The males in this species do not have

bacula Bacula is an open-source, enterprise-level computer backup system for heterogeneous networks. It is designed to automate backup tasks that had often required intervention from a systems administrator or computer operator. Bacula supports Linu ...

Distribution and habitat

Williams's jerboa is native to Anatolia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Turkey and northwestern Iran. A separate population is found in central Afghanistan. Its typical habitat is steppe with scanty vegetation cover. It occurs in disturbed areas when sufficient suitable habitat remain but is not normally found in cultivated areas. It favours semi-arid regions and the foothills of mountainous regions. In the west of its range it is found at altitudes of up to but ranges as high as in Afghanistan.

Behaviour

Williams's jerboa is mainly nocturnal and spends the day in a system of burrows. Emerging at night, it feeds on insects and plant material. The Williams's jerboa is a common food source for the

long-eared owl The long-eared owl (''Asio otus''), also known as the northern long-eared owlOlsen, P.D. & Marks, J.S. (2019). ''Northern Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)''. In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook o ...

.Hizal, Erdem. "Diet of the Long Eared Owl, Asio Otus, in Central Anatolia (Aves: Strigidae)."Zoology in the Middle East 59.2 (2013): 118. Web. 5 Oct. 2013. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09397140.2013.810866#.UlNd4dLoaSo>. Breeding takes place in spring and summer when two litters, each consisting of three to six young, are reared.

Status

Williams's jerboa has a wide range and, although it is found at relatively low densities, its total population is presumed to be large. It is common in parts of Azerbaijan but is rarer and has become locally extinct in parts of Turkey. The major threat it faces is the conversion of its steppe habitat into cultivated land. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

has listed its conservation status as being of "

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

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1763151 Allactaga Jerboa, Williams's Mammals described in 1897 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas