Allactodipus bobrinskii Kolesnikov 1937
Creators: name: Don E. Wilson
name: Russell A. Mittermeier
name: Thomas E. Lacher, Jr
Publisher: name: Lynx Edicions
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Dipodidae
Allactodipus
Allactodipus bobrinskii

description: 11.
Bobrinski’s Jerboa
Allactodipus bobrinsku
French: Gerboise de Bobrinski / German: Bobrinski-Springmaus / Spanish: Jerbo de Bobrinski
Taxonomy. Allactodipus bobrinskii Kolesnikov, 1937,
Khala-Ata, 140 km NW Bukhara, Uzbekistan.
Phylogenetically, A. bobrinskii is the sister species of the Allactaga major + A. severtzoui clade. Monotypic.
Distribution. NW & N Turkmenistan (Balkhan, Dasoguz, and Lebap provinces) and C & SW Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan, Bukhara, and Navoly regions).
Descriptive notes. Head-body 110-135 mm,tail 170-200 mm, ear 23-29 mm, hindfoot 56-64 mm; weight 52-77 g. There is no significant secondary sexual dimorphism. Condylo-basal lengths of skulls are 27-7-30-6 mm, zygomatic breadths are 21-3-23-8 mm, and maxillary tooth row lengths are 5-3-6-3 mm. Head and dorsum are dim pinkish clay; sides and ventral pelage are pure white; and tail banner is narrow but well flattened and one-color (grayish buff). Toes of hindfeet are covered from below with brushes of long (11-12 mm) soft hairs, light-brown inside and white outside; conic calluses at bases of toes are small and hidden among hairs of brushes. Auditory bullae are significantly inflated. Mastoid cavity is medium-sized and not subdivided into sections; tympanic cavity is large. Front surfaces of incisors are white; incisors are weakly deflected forward. P' is relatively small, 1-6 times smaller in diameter than M?®. Molars are high-crowned, with terraced masticatory surfaces; crown heights of unworn molars are 130-160% of their lengths. Glans penis is flattened and spatulate, 5-5—-6-4 mm long and 4-1-4-6 mm wide;its dorsal surface is depressed but without fold and subdivided into two increased in lateral direction lateral lobes; surfaces of lobes are covered by single-vertex, backward-directed aciculae increasing in size in backward direction; aciculae are arranged in 11-12 concentric rows with 24-26 aciculae in each row; and 1-2 pairs of aciculae in proximal part of lateralsides of lobes are significantly larger than others. Os penis (baculum) is absent. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48 and FN = 92.
Habitat. Relatively small patches of clay or clay-gravel soils, partially covered by sand drifts, with rare dwarf shrubs, Salsola rigida or Anabasis salsa (both Amaranthaceae), situated in sand massifs with more dense vegetation.
Food and Feeding. Diet of Bobrinski’s Jerboa is mixed but mainly folivorous. Green plant parts comprise ¢.75% ofits diet; seeds, insects, and underground plant parts comprise 6-9% each.
Breeding. Breeding of Bobrinski’s Jerboa occurs in April-June and, after mid-summer interruption, in August-October. Litters have 2-7 young (average range 4-5-5-3). Overwintered females produce 2-3 litters/year, but females born in spring can produce only onelitter in autumn of the same year. Sexual maturity occurs at 4-7 months of age. Length of gestation is not known. Young nurse for 40-50 days.
Activity patterns. Bobrinski’s Jerboa is nocturnal. Aboveground activity usually starts 40-60 minutes after sunset and ends a few minutes before sunrise. Hibernation occurs in November—March.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Bobrinski’s Jerboas move slowly when they forage, using synchronous ricochet jumps. When running, they use asynchronous ricochet jumps. Lengths of jumps vary from 20-80 cm to 160-180 cm depending on running speed; maximum jump length is 214 cm. Maximum speed when running is 31 km/h. When foraging, individuals are able to climb on shrubs. Escape behavioris characterized by several longjumps in alternate directions followed by fast direct running for distances of 20-30 m, with a final abrupt sideways spurt ending by hiding on the ground. Mean home ranges are 2-6 ha for males and 1-4 ha for females. Home ranges of individuals of the same and opposite sexes widely overlap. Within a home range, each individual has 2-3 living burrows used, in turn, over several days. Summer burrows usually consist of the initial tunnel filled with soil (excavated after construction of main tunnels) and two main tunnels; first one starts from the end of initial tunnel and slopes down to the nest chamber at the bottom and slopes up to emergency exit, and second one starts in upper one-third of the first one and leads up to the main entrance at the surface, closed with soil plug; and 1-2 nest chambers are placed along the main tunnel. Total lengths of tunnels (not including initial tunnel) are 115-140 cm; nest chambers are 8-10 cm in diameter and 25-85 cm deep, usually 40-60 cm. Construction of winter burrows has not been described. Bobrinski’s Jerboas do not have separate night shelter burrows.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List.
Bibliography. Shenbrot et al. (2008).
description: Published as part of Don E. Wilson, Russell A. Mittermeier & Thomas E. Lacher, Jr, 2017, Dipodidae, pp. 81-100 in Handbook of the Mammals of the World – Volume 7 Rodents II, Barcelona :Lynx Edicions on pages 86-87, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6591722