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gerbillinae

{{short description|Subfamily of mammals (rodents; Gerbillinae)}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| name = Gerbil

| fossil_range = Late Miocene{{snd}}Recent

| image = Gerbil.JPG

| taxon = Gerbillinae

| authority = Gray, 1825

| subdivision_ranks = Genera

| subdivision =

{{Plainlist|

}}

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Gerbillinae is one of the subfamilies of the rodent family Muridae and includes the gerbils, jirds, and sand rats. Once known as desert rats, the subfamily includes about 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all of which are adapted to arid habitats. Most are primarily active during the day, making them diurnal{{cite web|url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Gerbillinae.html|title=Gerbillinae (gerbils, jirds, and relatives)|website=Animal Diversity Web|access-date=3 June 2018}} (but some species, including the common household pet, exhibit crepuscular behavior), and almost all are omnivorous.

The gerbil got its name as a diminutive form of "jerboa", an unrelated group of rodents occupying a similar ecological niche. Gerbils are typically between {{convert|6|and|12|in|mm|order=flip|abbr=on}} long, including the tail, which makes up about half of their total length. One species, the great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus), originally native to Turkmenistan, can grow to more than {{convert|16|in|mm|-2|order=flip|abbr=on}}. The average adult gerbil weighs about {{convert|2+1/2|oz|g|order=flip|abbr=off|-1}}.

One species, the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), also known as the clawed jird, is a gentle and hardy animal that has become a popular small house pet. It is also used in some scientific research.

Classification

SUBFAMILY GERBILLINAE

References

= Citations =

{{Reflist|2}}

=Resources=

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20060922005737/http://www.research.usf.edu/cm/CMDC/C111_Normative_Biology_Diseases_Gerbils_7_03.pdf CMDC C111 "Normative Biology Diseases Gerbils"]—Division of Comparative Medicine, Office of Research & Innovation, University of South Florida
  • McKenna, M. C. and S. K. Bell. 1997. Classification of Mammals above the Species Level. Columbia University Press, New York.
  • Musser, G. G. and M. D. Carleton. 1993. "Family Muridae". pp. 501–755 in Mammal Species of the World a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference. D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder, eds. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.
  • Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker's Mammals of the World, Vol. 2. Johns Hopkins University Press, London.
  • Pavlinov, I. Ya., Yu. A. Dubrovskiy, O. L. Rossolimo, E. G. Potapova. 1990. Gerbils of the World. Nauka, Moscow.

{{Commons category|Gerbillinae}}

{{Muridae}}

{{Gerbillinae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q244770}}

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Category:Mammal subfamilies

Category:Taxa named by John Edward Gray