Dune hairy-footed gerbil facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dune hairy-footed gerbil |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Gerbillurus |
| Species: |
G. tytonis
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| Binomial name | |
| Gerbillurus tytonis (Bauer & Niethammer, 1960)
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The dune hairy-footed gerbil is a small rodent that lives only in Namibia. It is also called the Namib dune gerbil. This gerbil makes its home in the warm deserts, especially among sand dunes. It finds food like insects, seeds, and plants.
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About the Dune Hairy-Footed Gerbil
The dune hairy-footed gerbil is a medium-sized gerbil. Its body is about 99 millimeters (almost 4 inches) long. It also has a very long tail. Its head is narrow with a pointy nose. It has big eyes and long ears with only a few hairs.
The top of its body is a rich chestnut color. This color stops sharply at its white belly. It has a small white spot above each eye. Its legs are white, and its front legs are much shorter than its back legs. Each foot has five toes. The toes on its back feet are long and spread out. All its feet have lots of fur on the bottom. There is also a special fringe of hairs on each toe. Its long tail is chestnut on top and white underneath. It ends with a tuft of grayish hairs.
Where Does It Live?
This gerbil lives only in the deserts of western Namibia. You can find it in areas with tall or short sand dunes. It also lives in small sand hills called dune hummocks. Its home range is near the coast, between the towns of Swakopmund and Lüderitz.
It likes places with shifting sand and some plants. It avoids hard, flat areas between dunes. The gerbil often digs its burrow next to certain plants. These include Trianthema hereroensis or Stipagrostis sabulicola. The roots of these plants help keep the soil stable. It also digs burrows in the spiny hummocks made by Acanthosicyos horridus plants, also known as nara plants.
How Does It Live?
The dune hairy-footed gerbil is nocturnal. This means it is active at night. It moves by leaping and can jump up to 41 centimeters (about 16 inches) in one jump. During the hot day, it stays cool by hiding underground in its burrow.
Its burrow can have many branches and more than one entrance. Some burrows can be up to 1 meter (about 3 feet) long. Inside the burrow, there are hidden spots for food. There is also a nest chamber filled with shredded plant material. The gerbil eats arthropods (like insects and spiders) and seeds. It also eats green plants when they are available.
This gerbil is very good at saving water. It can make its urine very concentrated. This means it doesn't need to drink water. It gets all the water it needs from its food, especially if it eats lots of arthropods. It keeps its fur clean by taking frequent sand baths.
Is the Gerbil Safe?
This type of gerbil is common in its dune home. Scientists believe there are many of them. No major threats have been found that would harm their population. They live in some protected areas. The International Union for Conservation of Nature says this gerbil is a "least concern" animal. This means it is not currently at risk of disappearing.
 | Delilah Pierce |
 | Gordon Parks |
 | Augusta Savage |
 | Charles Ethan Porter |
