Gerbillinae J.E.Gray 1825
Creators: name: Amr, Zuhair S.
name: Abu, Mohammad A.
name: Qumsiyeh, Mazin
name: Eid, Ehab
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Mammalia
Rodentia
Muridae

description: Key to species of the subfamily Gerbillinae
1 Upper incisors with longitudinal groove (Figure 34A)......................................................... 2
- Upper incisors without longitudinal groove (Figure 34B)....................................... Psammomys obesus
2 Tail with a distinctive tuft extending about 1/2 to 2/3 of the tail.................................. Sekeetamys calurus
- Tail without a distinctive tuft extending about 1/2 to 2/3 of the tail............................................... 3
3 Large form, with skull length exceeding 30 mm .............................................................. 9
- Small form, with skull length not exceeding 30 mm .......................................................... 4
4 Soles of fore and hind feet predominantly naked............................................................. 5
- Soles of fore and hind feet predominantly hairy.............................................................. 7
5 Smaller species, HB less than 68 mm, greatest length of skull does not exceed 22.5 mm ................. Gerbillus henleyi
- Larger species, HB greater than 73 mm, greatest length of skull exceeds 26 mm .................................... 6
6 Hair bases on the tail rump gray, smaller tympanic bulla, posterior margin of mastoid chamber never extends to the level of supraoccipital bone........................................................................... G. dasyurus
- Hair bases on the tail rump white, well developed tympanic bulla, posterior margin of mastoid chamber exceeds the level of the supraoccipital bone.............................................................................. G. nanus
7 Coloration of the back is bright orange sandy buff, well developed tympanic bulla, posterior margin of mastoid chamber extends beyond the level of the supraoccipital bone................................................. G. cheesmani
- Dorsal coloration is bright yellowish sandy buff, tympanic bulla not well developed, posterior margin of mastoid chamber never exceeds supraoccipital bone........................................................................ 8
8 Ears pigmented, posterior end of the nasal bone truncate, anterior palatal foramin long while posterior foramina relatively short........................................................................................... G. andersoni
- Ears not pigmented, posterior end of the nasal bone rounded, anterior palatal foramin short while the posterior foramina rela- tively long................................................................................... G. gerbillus
9 Claws black............................................................................. Meriones libycus
- Claws not black....................................................................................... 2
10 Ears not pigmented....................................................................... Meriones crassus
- Ears pigmented......................................................................... Meriones tristrami
description: Published as part of Amr, Zuhair S., Abu, Mohammad A., Qumsiyeh, Mazin & Eid, Ehab, 2018, Systematics, distribution and ecological analysis of rodents in Jordan, pp. 1-94 in Zootaxa 4397 (1) on pages 32-33, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4397.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1202783