Lesser Short Tailed Gerbil

Nocturnal species. Lives in simple and unplugged burrows that found near salt marsh vegetation. Very docile, easily handled. The lesser short-tailed gerbil is mainly herbivorous, but occasionally feeding on insects, especially in summer. Little is known about the breeding biology of the lesser short-tailed gerbil except that female gives birth of blind and hairless young after a gestation period of around three weeks. The young open their eyes after two or three weeks.

The lesser short-tailed gerbil has tail shorter than the head and body. Tail color dark on the upper surface with a scattering of black hairs. Tail brush very inconspic­uous, with long hairs on tip of the tail only. Fur on the upperparts yellowish brown. The dorsal color becoming gradually paler to a narrow line of clear yellowish on the side but not running onto forelimb. Underparts and upper surfaces of feet white. Eyes large. Ear large and pigmented. Conspicuous and broad band of dark-tipped hairs running from mystacial area beneath eye to base of ear. Inconspicuous and whitish supraorbital area. Patch on the rump lacking. Palm and sole of the feet without hairs.

Localized (Mediterranean coast).

The lesser short-tailed gerbil found in littoral salt marshes in salty sandy loam with halophytic vegetation, olive groves, barley fields, and on clay soil in Thymelaea-Anabasis vegetation.

Body length: 72–89 mm. Tail length: 72–96 mm. Weight: 13–22 gm.

Native, resident.

The lesser short-tailed gerbil (Dipodillus simoni) is distributed mainly from eastern Morocco to Egypt. It is also known as Simon's dipodil. After morphological and molecular studies in 2010 Dipodillus was ranged as a subgenus of Gerbillus, and Dipodillus simoni was renamed into Gerbillus simoni.