Notes on the ecological peculiarities of the Iranian Jerboa, Allactaga firouzi Womochel, 1978 (Mammalia: Dipodidae)

The Iranian Jerboa, Allactaga firouzi Womochel, 1978, is restricted to a small part of the Iranian Plateau and has been listed in the IUCN Red List. We have recorded the habitat characteristics in the burrows, observation and capture sites. We could distinuguish four types of burrows including nest...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Zoology in the Middle East 2009-01, Vol.47, p.21-28
Main Authors: Naderi, G, Hemami, M R, Riazii, B, Alesheikh, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Dipodidae
Mammalia
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Summary:The Iranian Jerboa, Allactaga firouzi Womochel, 1978, is restricted to a small part of the Iranian Plateau and has been listed in the IUCN Red List. We have recorded the habitat characteristics in the burrows, observation and capture sites. We could distinuguish four types of burrows including nest burrows, temporal burrows, winter burrows and high shelter burrows. In total, 352 individuals were recorded with flashlight and hand net. All the captured individuals were released after the external characters were measured and the sex determined. The population density ranged from a minimum of 2.3 individuals/Km super(2) to a maximum of 4.4 individuals/km super(2) when juveniles became catchable. Breeding usually occurred from April to May and the highest density occurred in late May. Vegetation structure, soil texture and altitude were found to be the main factors affecting the distribution of this species. Stepwise logistic regression revealed a significant positive association between the presence of Anabasis aphylla and the probability of occurrence of the Iranian Jerboa (P
ISSN:0939-7140
DOI:10.1080/09397140.2009.10638343