Scarturus williamsi
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
Scarturus
Scarturus williamsi

description: 15.
Williams's Jerboa
Scarturus williamsi
French: Gerboise de Williams / German: Tlurkei-Pferdespringer / Spanish: Jerbo de Williams
Taxonomy. Allactaga williams: Thomas, 1897,
“ Van, alt. 5000 ft. [1524 m],” Turkey.
Previously included in the genus Allactaga and later Paralactaga, which has recently been found to be a junior synonym of Scarturus. In the past, S. williams: was synonymized with S. euphraticus. Phylogenetically, it is a member of subgenus Paralactaga, being the sister species of S. aulacotis. Recently found in the Kopet Dag Mountains of north-eastern Iran, Scarturus cf. williamsi, named by K. Hamidi and colleagues in 2016, is a separate species that needs to be formally described; it is also possible that it is closely related to S. euphraticus caprimulga. Monotypic.
Distribution. Turkey (Anatolia), Armenia, SE Georgia, Azerbaijan, NW & W Iran, and Lebanon; individuals of still unresolved specific status have been recently found in NE Iran (Kopet Dag Mts).
Descriptive notes. Head-body 102-146 mm, tail 167-255 mm, ear 38-51 mm, hindfoot 61-74 mm; weight 54-143 g. Thereis no significant secondary sexual dimorphism. Condylo-basal lengths of skulls are 29-5-33-2 mm, zygomatic breadths are 21-4-24-8 mm, and maxillary tooth row lengths are 6-3-7-6 mm. Head and dorsum are brownish ocherous;sides and ventral pelage are pure white; and tail banneris wide and well flattened, with short (20 mm) bright-ocherous basal ring, relatively long (40 mm) black subterminal field, and short (20 mm) white terminal tuft. Toes of hindfeet are covered from below with short soft white (with admixture of black) hairs not forming brushes; conic calluses at bases of toes are large, with wide bases and rounded apexes. Auditory bullae are weakly inflated. Mastoid cavity is medium-sized and not subdivided into sections; tympanic cavity is extremely small. Front surfaces of incisors are white; incisors are weakly deflected forward. P' is relatively small and about twice as small as in diameter than M’. Molars are low-crowned, with tuberculous masticatory surfaces; crown heights of unworn molars are ¢.70% of their lengths. Glans penis is egg-shaped, 2:5-3-9 mm long and 1-8-2-4 mm wide,slightly compressed in dorso-ventral direction, subdivided by deep longitudinal dorsal fold into two lateral lobes; surfaces of lobes are covered by single-vertex, backward-directed aciculae increasing in size in backward direction; and aciculae are arranged in 4-5 concentric rows with 12-14 aciculae in each row. Os penis (baculum) is absent. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 48 and FN = 96.
Habitat. Mainly semi-deserts and mountain dry steppes but also subalpine meadows up to elevations of ¢.2500 m. Williams's Jerboa is a habitat generalist and frequents different habitats including saltwort (Amaranthaceae) vegetation, semi-stabilized sand dunes, and rock outcrops, preferring patches of sparse sagebrush (Artemisia, Asteraceae) and herbaceous vegetation.
Food and Feeding. Diet ofWilliams'sJerboa is mainly composed of seeds and insects and to a lesser extent of green plant material and bulbs. It mainly eats insects and green plant parts in spring, vegetative and generative plant parts in summer, and seeds in autumn.
Breeding. Breeding of Williams'sJerboa was recorded in late March—June and August— October. Litters have 2-8 young (average varies within the same year 3-6-3). Overwintering females can produce two litters per year. Length of gestation was estimated at 25-30 days.
Activity patterns. Williams's Jerboas are nocturnal. Aboveground activity usually starts 1-5-2 hours after sunset and ends before morning dusk. Hibernation occurs in November—February.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Burrows of Williams's Jerboa are simple and usually have one tunnel with 1-3 turns. Tunnel starts at ground surface, with typically plugged entrance, and ends with nest chamber 12-14 cm in diameter and 20-80 cm deep; lengths of tunnels are 90-200 cm. In some cases, burrows have 1-2 additional tunnels ending with emergency exits. In captivity, initial contacts between individuals of the same or opposite sex are aggressive; after two hours of intense fighting, individuals became peaceful; and in some cases, these interactions can lead to serious wounds or death.
Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List (as Allactaga williams).
Bibliography. Arslan & Zima (2010), Atallah & Harrison (1969), Colak &Yigit (1998b), Colak et al. (1994), Dianat et al. (2013), Hamidi et al. (2016), Krystufek & Vohralik (2005), Krystufek, Arslan et al. (2013), Lay (1967), Naderi et al. (2014), Shenbrot et al. (2008), Toyran & Albayrak (2009).
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 91, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.6591722