Long Eared Jeroba
Marco Rodriguez 5B
Information
Kingdom: Anamalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Dipodidae
Genus: Euchoreutes
Species: E. Naso
Closely related to mice.
Long-eared jerboas are found in the Palearctic ecozone. The specific palearctic ecozone areas they are found in are southernmost Mongolia to the Takla-Makan Desert, Mengxin, Aerijin Mountain, and Qing-Zang Plateau regions of north western China.
Most jerboa species are primarily herbivorous, eating seeds and succulent plants; however, the long-eared jerboa's diet is thought to consist primarily of insects.
Very little is known of the ecology of this species. Other jerboas are primarily nocturnal, spending the hours of daylight in underground burrows, which they dig themselves.
Jerboas are small jumping rodents that resemble mice with long tufted tails and very long hindlegs. The long-eared jerboa can be distinguished from other jerboas by its enormous ears, which are about a third larger than the head. The fur is reddish yellow to pale russet above, rather than the sandy or buffy colour of most jerboas. The underparts are white. The tail is long and covered in short hairs that are the same colour as the body. There is a tuft of longer hairs at the end of the tail which are coloured white at the beginning, black in the middle of the tuft, and white again at the tip. Each hindfoot has five toes. The soles of the feet have tufts of stiff hairs which act as friction pads to support the animal on loose sand.
Classified as Endangered (EN A1c) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.The species occurs in a number of protected areas, including the Little Gobi Strictly Protected Area in Borzongiin Gobi. However, no conservation measures aimed specifically at this species are currently underway.
Fun Fact: The jerobas locate insects by performing a series of fast leaps and listening for the bugs' movements.