Long-eared Jerboa

About this species

Habitat

Arid desert and semi-desert

Range

Southern Mongolia and northwestern China

The long-eared jerboa is an unmistakable nocturnal desert rodent with extremely large ears, elongated hind legs, a long tail, and much shorter forelimbs. Its fur is described as reddish yellow to pale russet above and white below. The jumping build resembles other jerboas, but the ears are proportionally exceptional and explain both the English name and the species' singular appearance. Taxonomists place it alone in the genus Euchoreutes and the subfamily Euchoreutinae, emphasizing how distinct it is from Mongolia's other jerboas. (Wikipedia, long-eared jerboa account)

The species occurs from southern Mongolia into the deserts and dry plateaus of northwestern China. It is nocturnal, spending daylight in shelter and emerging after dark to move by powerful bipedal hops. The opened biological account describes an insect-rich diet and desert occurrence but stresses how little is known of its wild life. Mongolia is independently present in the Mammal Diversity Database country list. No precise Mongolian reserve, denning pattern, or breeding season was supported strongly enough by the opened sources to include here. (Wikipedia, long-eared jerboa account; Mammal Diversity Database, Mongolia country list)

Description: Wildlife of Mongolia guide, Wildlife of Everywhere (wildlifeofeverywhere.com); general species information paraphrased from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)