Midday Jird
Meriones meridianus (Pallas, 1773)
Also calledChinese renmuis (nld) · Meridian qum siçanı (aze) · Merione di mezzogiorno (ita) · Mittags-Rennmaus (deu) · Mittagsrennmaus (deu) · Mittagsrennratte (deu) · Mérione du Sud (fra) · Mérione du midi (fra) · Mérione méridienne (fra) · Shargal Chichuul (mon) · Zandmuis (nld) · keskiaasianjirdi (fin) · pískomil jižní (ces) · suwak pustynny (pol)
First described in: Reise Prov. Russ. Reichs. p.702
The midday jird (Meriones meridianus), also called midday gerbil, is a rodent species in the family Muridae and native to sandy deserts in Central and East Asia. It has been listed on the IUCN Red List as Least Concern since 2008.
Descriptions from checklists and floras indexed by GBIF
discussion
Discussion: Subgenus Pallasiomys. Intraspecific chromosomal variation among Russian samples reported by Korobitsyna and Kartavtseva (1988). Utilizing several sets of data, including results from hybridization studies, Dyatlov and Avanyan (1987) tested conspecificity of the subspecies meridianus, nogaiorum, and dahli, and concluded that nogaiorum should be considered a semispecies and dahli a species (see that account). We retain nogaiorum in M. meridianus pending unequivocal results demonstrating its evolutionary status. Phallic morphology described by Yang et al. (1992) and contrasted with M. unguiculatus. Yi it et al. (1998 b) contrasted geographic range, morphology and karyotypes between samples of M. meridianus and M. crassus in E Turkey. Reviewed by Pavlinov et al. (1990). The segment in E Anatolia (Turkey) was reviewed by Yi it et al. (1997 b, 1998 b). Range in Russia, taxonomy, and other characteristics reviewed by Gromov and Erbajeva (1995), who listed both nogaiorum and dahli in the synonymy of M. meridianus.
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
distribution
Distribution: From Lower Don River and north of the Caucasus to Mongolia and N China (provinces of Nei Mongol, Hebei, Henen, Shanxi, N Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Gansu, NE Qinghai, and Ningxia; see Ma et al. [1987], Wang [2003], and Zhang et al. [1997]), south to E Turkey, E Iran and N Afghanistan. The isolated segment in Armenia mentioned by Corbet (1978 c) refers to M. dahli (see that account).
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
materials_examined
Type Locality: Se Russia, Astrakhanskaya Oblast, Dosang (as restricted by Heptner, in Vinogradov et al., 1936, not Chaworth-Musters and Ellerman, 1947; see Pavlinov and Rossolimo, 1987).
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
discussion
COMMENTS: Subgenus Pallasiomys. The significance of intraspecific chromosomal variation among Russian samples was reported by Korobitsyna and Kartavtseva (1988). Utilizing several sets of data, including results from hybridization studies, Dyatlov and Avanyan (1987) tested conspecificity of the subspecies meridianus, nogaiorum, and dahli, and concluded that nogaiorum should be considered a semispecies and dahli a species (see that account). We retain nogaiorum in M. meridianus pending unequivocable results demonstrating its evolutionary status. The Xinjiang population was discussed by Ma et al. (1987).
Order Rodentia - Family Muridae
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
The midday jird is a medium-sized species with a head-and-body length of 95 to 134 mm (3.7 to 5.3 in), a tail of a similar length, and a weight of 30 to 60 g (1.1 to 2.1 oz). The upper parts are pale yellowish-grey, drab or darker brown, the hairs having blackish bases. The underparts are white with a light brown strip across the chest. The tail is brown or ochre above and slightly paler below. The claws are white, and the soles of the hind feet are densely hairy so that no bare skin is visible.
Range & habitat
The midday jird's range extends from Iran, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia to Afghanistan, Mongolia and western China. Its lives in sandy deserts, alluvial plains and especially arid sandy areas in hilly deserts with a scattering of scrub up to an elevation of 1,600 m (5,200 ft). It is a common rodent in the Aralkum area, where it has colonised the dried sea bottom.
What it does
The midday jird lives in large colonies with complex social structures. The entrance to the burrow is usually at the base of a plant and the tunnels may extend for up to 4 m (13 ft) horizontally and half of this vertically, being deeper in winter. It is mainly nocturnal, but may emerge in daylight in autumn and winter. Its diet consists mainly of seeds and fruits, but it also eats insects and some green vegetation. It stores small amounts of food in the burrow. Breeding takes place mainly in the spring and autumn with litters averaging about six young.
Where it has been recorded
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Meriones meridianus in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
From the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and occurrence records (GBIF.org), with Wikipedia and the Source Library. GBIF species 5219713.