Guinean gerbil facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Guinean gerbil |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Muridae |
| Genus: | Gerbilliscus |
| Species: |
G. guineae
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| Binomial name | |
| Gerbilliscus guineae (Thomas, 1910)
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The Guinean gerbil (Gerbilliscus guineae) is a small rodent that lives in parts of West Africa. You can find it in countries like Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and maybe even Liberia.
These gerbils like to live in places with dry forests, savannas, rocky areas, and arable land (land used for farming). They especially prefer areas with clay or laterite soils. These spots often have different amounts of plants and thick bushes. The Guinean gerbil is quite common. Its population is stable, and it lives in many places. Because of this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says it is a "least concern" animal. This means it is not currently at risk of disappearing.
What Does the Guinean Gerbil Look Like?
The Guinean gerbil is a medium-sized gerbil. Its body, from head to tail, is about 150 mm (6 in) long. Its tail is even longer, around 175 mm (7 in).
Its head has a slightly rounded snout, big eyes, and ears that are a bit long. The fur on its back and upper body is greyish-brown. Each hair has a dark grey base, an orange or brown middle, and a black tip. The fur on its head and sides is lighter because those hairs don't have dark tips.
The underside of its body, including its chin, throat, the inside of its legs, and its front and back feet, are white. There's a clear line where the dark fur on its back meets the white fur on its belly. Its tail has a lot of hair and is two colors: dark on top and light underneath. The very tip of its tail has a tuft of long, dark hairs.
Life and Habits of the Guinean Gerbil
The Guinean gerbil is a nocturnal animal. This means it is active mostly at night. During the day, it rests in its home.
It digs a complex system of burrows underground. These burrows can go as deep as 50 cm (2 ft). The area where a Guinean gerbil lives and searches for food is called its home range. On average, this area is about 1,450 square metres (15,600 sq ft) in size.
Scientists don't know much about what the Guinean gerbil eats. In western Senegal, these gerbils usually have their babies during the wet season. They continue to breed into the dry season. When a mother gerbil has a litter, she usually has about four or five babies at a time.
 | Audre Lorde |
 | John Berry Meachum |
 | Ferdinand Lee Barnett |
