Salpingotus heptnen Vorontsov & Smirnov 1969
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
Salpingotus
Salpingotus heptnen

description: 4.
Heptner’s Pygmy Jerboa
Salpingotus heptnen
French: Gerboise de Heptner / German: Heptner-Dreizehenzwergspringmaus / Spanish: Jerbo pigmeo de Heptner
Taxonomy. Salpingotus heptneri Vorontsov & Smirnov, 1969,
8 km NE Kok-Tobe, Karakalpakiya, Uzbekistan.
Salpingotus heptneri is in the subgenus Prosalpingotus. Monotypic.
Distribution. N & NE Kyzylkum Desert in Uzbekistan (NE Karakalpakstan) and Kazakhstan (S Kyzylorda Region).
Descriptive notes. Head—body 40-58 mm, tail 85-101 mm, ear 9-11 mm, hindfoot 20-22 mm; weight 7-13 g. Heptner’s Pygmy Jerboa is very small; secondary sexual dimorphism is expressed only in length of terminal tuft of tail, which is twice as long on males than females. Condylo-basal lengths of skulls are 17-18-2 mm, mastoid breadths are 16-3—17-6 mm, and maxillary tooth row lengths are 3-2-3-4 mm. Head and dorsum are sandy gray, with scattered dark gray; sides and ventral pelage are pure white. Tail is fatty, with short black terminal tuft; fat deposits in tail are greatest in anterior one-third and gradually become thinner toward tip. Hindfeet have three toes, covered below with brushes of white hairs; toes do not have conic calluses at their bases. Ears are short and tubiform. Auditory bullae are greatly inflated and strongly project from under braincase laterally and caudally. Mastoid cavity is large and completely subdivided into three sections by septum. In volume, mastoid cavity is about twice as large as tympanic cavity. Front surfaces of incisorsare yellow. P! is present and slightly smaller in diameter than M’. Molars are low-crowned, with tuberculous surfaces; crown heights of unworn molars are 75% of their lengths. Glans penisis small, thin, elongated, cone-shaped, and not subdivided into lobes, with surface covered by extremely small plaques not differentiated in size. Os penis (baculum) is rudimentary and rachis-like; its length is about equal to onetenth of the length of glans penis. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 46 and FN probably 90.
Habitat. Thin sand sediments on clay alluvial plains in desert zones.
Food and Feeding. Diets of Heptner’s Pygmy Jerboas contain about equal amounts of seeds and insects.
Breeding. Pregnant Heptner’s Pygmy Jerboas were recorded in April-June. Females produce two litters per year. Litters have 2-4 young.
Activity patterns. Heptner’s PygmyJerboa is strongly nocturnal. Activity starts one hour after sunset and was recorded only in the first one-half of the night. Hibernation starts in September and ends in the end of March.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. In captivity, Heptner’s Pygmy Jerboas are socially aggressive, with active fighting.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red Lust.
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 page 84, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6591722