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Libyan jird

Mammals

The Libyan jird (Meriones libycus) is a large jird, a gerbil-like rodent of the family Muridae, with a head-and-body length of 100 to 160 mm, a tail of similar length and a weight of roughly 56 to 105 g. It has a broad head, large eyes, fine dense greyish-brown fur and long hind legs, with a pale tail whose last third is dark. It ranges across North Africa and through the Middle East to Central Asia and western China, living in deserts, semi-deserts, river floodplains, wadis and stable sand dunes, and sometimes on farmland. It digs burrows up to about 1.5 metres deep, lives alone or in small colonies, and forages for seeds, bulbs, tubers and leaves. It is common across its wide range, is regarded as a crop pest in places, and is assessed as Least Concern.

Facts
Classification
Diet
Herbivore 1
System (Realm)
Terrestrial 1
Threats
Other or No Known Threats 2
Relationship to People
Kept as Pets 1
Relationship to People
Agricultural or Structural Pest 1
Living or Extinct
Yes 1
Conservation Status
Least Concern 1
Activity Pattern
Diurnal 1
Body Size
85 1
Lifespan
5.2 1
Comparison
CITES Appendix
Not Listed 1
Connections

Child Taxon Of

Muridae, Taxa
Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)

In Biome

Desert, Biomes
Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Afghanistan

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Algeria

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
China

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Egypt

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Iran

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Iraq

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Jordan

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Kazakhstan

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Libya

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Mauritania

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Morocco

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Saudi Arabia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Syria

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Tunisia

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Turkmenistan

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Uzbekistan

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Libyan jird (Wikipedia)Lead
Quote, Lead
It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
Sources
1. Animal Diversity Web: Meriones libycus (Libyan jird)
Animal Diversity Web
  • Conservation Status
    IUCN Red List Least Concern
  • Food Habits
    eat the seeds of a wide array of grasses in the wild
  • Habitat, terrestrial biomes
    Terrestrial Biomes desert or dune
  • Conservation Status, living populations
    is not endangered as it is fairly common across a wide area
  • Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
    is sometimes kept as a pet
  • Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
    can do serious damage to crops
  • Conservation Status, CITES
    CITES No special status
  • Behavior, activity
    They are diurnal in their feeding activity
  • Lifespan/Longevity, captivity
    Average lifespan Status: captivity 5.2 years
  • Other Physical Features, mass
    Average mass 85 g
View the Source
2. Libyan jird (Wikipedia)
  • Status
    No special threats to this species have been identified
  • Lead
    It is found in Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Western China.
  • In Biome: Desert, Distribution and habitat
    Its typical habitat includes deserts and semi-deserts, river floodplains, wadis and areas with stable sand-dunes.
View the Source
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