Shaw's jird

Shaw's jird (Meriones shawi) is a species of rodent in the family Muridae, found in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, where its natural habitats are arable land, pastureland and rural gardens. The Wikipedia article that serves as this entry's source describes it as a relatively large, gerbil-like rodent about the size of a rat. An adult male may reach 36 centimetres including the tail, which is about half of that length, and weigh up to 170 grams, while females are somewhat smaller at about 140 grams. The coat is sandy and usually quite dark, occasionally with a white head spot. It can survive long periods of dehydration in semi-desert regions, helped by its well-developed kidneys, typically lives one to two years, and is a main prey of barn owls in the Algerian highlands.