File:Meriones_unguiculatus_(wild).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Species
Least ConcernMeriones unguiculatus La Gerbille de Mongolie, (Meriones unguiculatus ou Meriones (Pallasiomys) unguiculatus) ou encore Mérione de Mongolie, est un petit rongeur de la famille des Muridés, sous-famille des Gerbilles, genre Meriones. Son habitat naturel est situé dans les régions semi-désertiques du Nord-Est de la Chine et de la Mongolie. En captivité c'est la gerbille d’élevage la plus connue. Elle est considérée légalement en France comme animal domestique.
via IUCN
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Wilhelma Zoo, Stuttgart, Germany Pied cream gerbil in a curious pose The Mongolian gerbil, also referred to as the Mongolian jird (Meriones unguiculatus), is a rodent belonging to the subfamily Gerbillinae. Their body size is typically 110–135 mm (4+1⁄4–5+1⁄4 in), with a 95–120 mm (3+3⁄4–4+3⁄4 in) tail, and body weight 60–130 g (2–4+1⁄2 oz), with adult males larger than females. The animal is used in science for research or kept as a small house pet. Their use in science dates back to the later half of the 19th century, but they only started to be kept as pets in the English-speaking world after 1954, when they were brought to the United States. However, their use in scientific research has fallen out of favor.
Taxonomy and evolution
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Mongolian gerbil” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.