Thin sand rat

{{Short description|Species of mammal belonging to the gerbil subfamily of rodents}}

{{speciesbox

| status = DD

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Granjon, L. |date=2017 |title=Psammomys vexillaris |volume=2017 |page=e.T18419A102965932 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T18419A102965932.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}

| genus = Psammomys

| species = vexillaris

| authority = Thomas, 1925

}}

The thin sand rat or lesser sand rat (Psammomys vexillaris) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae.{{Cite journal|last1=Mostafa|first1=Ben Hamou|last2=Souha|first2=Ben Abderrazak|last3=Sabeh|first3=Frigui|last4=Noureddine|first4=Chatti|last5=Riadh|first5=Ben Ismail|date=2006|title=Evidence for the existence of two distinct species: Psammomys obesus and Psammomys vexillaris within the sand rats (Rodentia, Gerbillinae), reservoirs of cutaneous leishmaniasis in Tunisia|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7523566|journal=Infection, Genetics and Evolution|volume=6|issue=4|pages=301–308|doi=10.1016/j.meegid.2005.09.002|pmid=16243007}} It has also been previously named the pale sand rat based on work published by Oldfield Thomas in 1925.{{Cite journal|last=Thomas|first=Oldfield|date=1925|title=XX.On some of the species of Psammomys found in Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli|journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History|volume=16|issue=91|pages=197–199|doi=10.1080/00222932508633289}}

It is found in Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia, and its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and intermittent salt lakes.

The thin sand rat was previously classified as a subspecies of the fat sand rat. However, morphological differences in size and coat color between the two animals, along with recent molecular evidence suggest that they are different species.{{Cite journal|last=Ranck|first=Gary L.|date=1968|title=The Rodents of Libya: Taxonomy, Ecology and Zoogeographical Relationships|url=https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/10175/1/USNMB_2751968_unit.pdf|journal=Bulletin of the United States National Museum|issue=275|pages=1–264|doi=10.5479/si.03629236.275.1}}{{Cite journal|last1=Cockrum|first1=E. L.|last2=Vaughan|first2=P. J.|last3=Vaughan|first3=T. C.|date=1977|title=Status of the pale sand rat, Psammomys vexillaris Thomas, 1925|journal=Mammalia|volume=41|issue=3|pages=321–326|doi=10.1515/mamm.1977.41.3.321|s2cid=84969364}}

The thin sand rat may be a natural reservoir for the disease leishmaniasis.{{Cite journal|last1=Othman|first1=Souad Ben|last2=Ghawar|first2=Wissem|last3=Chaouch|first3=Melek|last4=Ayari|first4=Chiraz|last5=Chemkhi|first5=Jomaa|last6=Cancino-Faure|first6=Beatriz|last7=Tomás-Pérez|first7=Miriam|last8=Alcover|first8=Maria Magdalena|last9=Riera|first9=Cristina|last10=Salah|first10=Afif Ben|last11=Fisa|first11=Roser|last12=Ismail|first12=Riadh Ben|last13=Abderrazak|first13=Souha Ben|date=2018|title=First detection of Leishmania DNA in Psammomys obesus and Psammomys vexillaris: Their potential involvement in the epidemiology of leishmaniasis in Tunisia|journal=Infection, Genetics and Evolution

|volume=59|pages=7–15|doi=10.1016/j.meegid.2018.01.013|pmid=29413886}}