Namib brush-tailed gerbil facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Namib brush-tailed 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. setzeri
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| Binomial name | |
| Gerbillurus setzeri (Schlitter, 1973)
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| Synonyms | |
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Gerbillus (Gerbillurus) setzeri Schlitter, 1973 |
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The Namib brush-tailed gerbil (also called Setzer's hairy-footed gerbil) is a type of rodent. It lives only in Angola and Namibia. These gerbils like sandy and gravelly places. They stay in their burrows during the day. At night, they come out to find food like insects, plants, and seeds.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
The Namib brush-tailed gerbil is the biggest kind of gerbil in its group, Gerbillurus. Its body is about 110 mm (4.3 inches) long. Its tail is even longer, about 130 mm (5.1 inches).
Its fur on its back is a light sandy brown. Each hair is grey at the bottom and sandy at the tip. The sides of its body are lighter than its back. Its face, chin, throat, and belly are white. It has light rings around its eyes. Its ears are pale and have little fur. Its whiskers are a mix of black and white. Its legs and feet are white. The bottoms of its feet and toes are covered in thick hair. Its tail is sandy on top and white underneath. It has a long tuft of grey hairs at the very end.
Where Does It Live?
This gerbil lives only in a narrow strip of land. This land runs along the coast of southwestern Angola and northwestern and western Namibia.
It usually lives in sandy and gravelly areas. This includes flat sandy areas, bare gravel plains with thin soil, and dry riverbeds. If there are too many gerbils in one place, some might move into nearby dune areas.
How Does It Live?
The Namib brush-tailed gerbil is a nocturnal animal. This means it is active at night. During the day, it rests in its burrow. It digs a burrow with many tunnels and several entrances. It likes bare areas with not much plant life. You can often spot its burrows because of the piles of dug-out dirt. This dirt is a different color from the ground around it.
The burrow can be as long as 2 meters (6.6 feet). Inside, it has a special room for nesting. This room is lined with shredded plants. It also has storage rooms for food. The gerbil eats arthropods (like insects), plant parts, and seeds. It doesn't need to drink water often. This is because its body is very good at saving moisture. It does this by making its urine very concentrated.
These gerbils are more social than some other gerbil types. But sometimes, they might fight. They might chase each other or "box" with their front paws. They also make sounds, including high-pitched whistles that humans can't hear. These sounds help them talk to each other. They also use foot drumming to communicate.
What Is Its Conservation Status?
The Namib brush-tailed gerbil is a common animal. It lives in a fairly large area. Scientists believe there are many of these gerbils in total. A lot of them live in protected areas. This gerbil does not face any major threats. Because of this, the International Union for Conservation of Nature says its conservation status is "least concern". This means it is not currently at risk of disappearing.
 | Ernest Everett Just |
 | Mary Jackson |
 | Emmett Chappelle |
 | Marie Maynard Daly |
