Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Rodentia Family: Cricetidae A gerbil is a small mammal of the order Rodentia. Once known simply as "desert rats," the gerbil family includes 89 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all of which are adapted to arid habitats. Therefore, most are primarily nocturnal, and almost all are omnivorous. One Mongolian species, Meriones unguiculatus, also known as the Clawed Jird, is a gentle and hardy animal that has become a popular pet. It was first brought to the United States in 1954 by Dr. Victor Schwentker for use in research. Gerbils are typically between six and twelve inches long, and their tail makes up approximately one half of their total length. One species, however, the Great Gerbil, or Rhombomys opimus, originally native to Turkmenistan, can grow to more than 16 inches in length. As of August 19, 2003, officials in western China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region began releasing eagles to combat the damage they say the great gerbils have done to eleven million acres of grassland.[1] Family Cricetidae Family Cricetidae, the hamster-like rodents, belongs to the superfamily Muridae, which also includes mice and rats. Subfamily Gerbilinae consists of the following 14 genera, 9 subgenera and 89 species: Genus Gerbillus (Typical gerbils; Northern pygmy gerbils) subgenus Handecapleura campestris dasyurus mackilligini jamesi maghrebi stigmonyx amoenus poecilops famulus nanus watersi mesopotamiae henleyi syrticus pusillus ruberrimus bottai muriculus mauritaniae subgenus Dipodillus simony zakariai subgenus Gerbillus gerbillus cheesmani aquilus gleadowi andersoni pyramidum allenbyi hesperinus pulvinatus perpallidus riggenbachi latastei hoogstraali occiduus rosalinda agag nancillus Genus Meriones (Jirds) subgenus Parameriones persicus rex subgenus Cheliones hurrianae subgenus Meriones vinogradovi tamariscinus tristrami subgenus Pallasiomys unguiculatus meridianus chengi shawi libycus caudatus crassus sacramenti zarudnyi Genus Psammomys (Sand rats) obesus vexillaris Genus Rhombomys (Larger gerbil) opimus ("Great Gerbil") Genus Pachyuromys (Fat-tailed gerbil) duprasi Genus Tatera (Large naked-soled gerbils) subgenus Gerbilliscus boehmi subgenus Tatera indica leucogaster nigricauda robusta guineae phillipsi afra valida gambiana brantsi inclusa pringlei Genus Desmodillus (Short-eared gerbil) auricularis Genus Microdillus (listed as a subgenus of Gerbillus until 1977) peeli Genus Taterillus (Small naked-soled gerbils) gracilis petteri pygargus arenarius lacustris congicus harringtoni emini Genus Desmodilliscus braueri Genus Ammodillus (Walo) imbellis Genus Brachiones (Przewalski's gerbil) przewalski (discovered by Nikolay Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky) Genus Gerbillurus (Southern pygmy gerbils) paeba tytonis vallinus setzeri Genus Sekeetamys (Bushy-tailed jird; listed as a subgenus of Meriones until 1956) calurus External Links The National Gerbil Society (U.K.) This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.