Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) nanus Blanford 1875

Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) nanus Blanford 1875, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 4, 16: 312.

Type Locality: Pakistan, Gedrosia (see Lay, 1983).

Vernacular Names: Baluchistan Gerbil.

Synonyms: Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) arabium (Thomas 1918); Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) indus Thomas 1920; Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) lixa Yerbury and Thomas 1895; Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) mimulus (Thomas 1902); Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) setonbrownei Harrison 1968 .

Distribution: An extensive range from the Baluchistan region of NW India (Rajasthan and Gujarat; see Agrawal, 2000), Pakistan, S Afghanistan, and Iran through the Arabian Peninsula, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and North Africa to Morocco (SE side of Atlas Mtns; see Aulagnier and Thevenot, 1986) and Mauritania (Granjon et al., 1997 a, 2002 b), and south in the Sahara to at least Niger (Dobigny et al., 2002 b), NE Mali (Dobigny et al., 2001 a, b); see excellent map in Lay and Nadler (1975) portraying range east of the Euphrates River.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Hendecapleura . Regional reviews of the species provided by Lay and Nadler (1975, Iraq to India), Agrawal (2000) and Chakraborty and Agrawal (2000; NW India), Qumsiyeh (1996, Israel and Jordan), Mendelssohn and Yom-Tov (1999, Israel), Harrison and Bates (1991, Arabia), Al-Jumaily (1998, Yemen), Osborn and Helmy (1980, Egypt), Ranck (1968, Libya), Kowalski and Rzebik-Kowalska (1991, Algeria), Aulagnier and Thevenot (1986, Morocco), Granjon et al. (1997 a, 2002 b, SW Mauritania), Dobigny et al. (2001 a, b N Mali), and Shenbrot and Krasnov (1997, Israel). Lay (1983) remarked that G. nanus and G. amoenus share several morphological and chromosomal traits and that the nature of their relationship should be explored by careful revision. Cranial morphology of Qatarian G. nanus and G. cheesmani contrasted by Madkour (1984). Analysis of R- and C-banding of chromosomes by Volobouev et al. (1995 a) of G. nanus, G. henleyi, and G. poecilops revealed that the three species form a natural phylogenetic group derived from the same ancestor. Furthermore, Volobouev et al. (1995 a:60) concluded that " Gerbillus nanus probably represents a series of forms presently undergoing speciation and showing incipient karyotype and morphological differentiation." They also pointed out the vast geographic distribution of G. nanus and described three morphological and two chromosomal types discovered in their samples, two from Arabia and one from Pakistan: "a small form with large bullae and some submetacentric chromosomes (Al Hofuf), a large form with large bullae and acrocentric chromosomes (Taif), and finally, a large form from Pakistan with small bullae and acrocentric chromosomes." Dobigny et al. (2001 a) documented chromosomal traits of G. nanus from NE Mali, and Dobigny et al. (2002 b) described karyotype from Niger samples. Reviewed by Pavlinov et al. (1990). The Algerian garamantis is usually included in G. nanus (Pavlinov et al., 1990; F. Petter, 1975 b), but we list it as a separate species following Lay (1983); see account of G. garamantis .