Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) henleyi de Winton 1903

Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) henleyi de Winton 1903, Novit. Zool., 10: 284.

Type Locality: Egypt, Wadi Natron, Zaghig.

Vernacular Names: Pygmy Gerbil.

Synonyms: Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) jordani (Thomas 1918); Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) makrami (Setzer 1958); Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) mariae (Bonhote 1910) .

Distribution: From C Morocco (south of Atlas Mtns) and Algeria through N Africa to Sinai Peninsula, NE Sudan, and Djibouti (Perch et al., 2001); then through Israel and Jordan (Qumsiyeh, 1996; Mendelssohn and Yom-Tov, 1999), with scattered records in W Saudi Arabia, N Yemen, and Oman (Harrison and Bates); also recorded from Burkina Faso (Maddalena et al., 1988; Volobouev et al., 1995 a), Niger (Dobigny et al., 2002 b), and N Senegal (Bâ et al., 2000; Duplantier and Granjon et al., 1992; Duplantier et al. 1991 a).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Hendecapleura . Broad segments of the species reviewed by Ranck (1968, Libya), Osborn and Helmy (1980, Egypt), Qumsiyeh (1996, Israel and Jordan), Aulagnier and Thevenot (1986, Morocco), Harrison and Bates (1991, Arabian Peninsula), Pearch et al. (2001, Djibouti), Al-Jumaily (1998, Yemen), and Kowalski and Rzebik-Kowalska (1991, Algeria). The occurrences in Burkina Faso and Senegal were postulated to reflect the southward expansion of Saharan environments (Duplantier et al., 1991 a). R- and C-banding of chromosomes of G. henleyi, G. nanus, and G. poecilops was documented by Volobouev et al (1995 a:60), who concluded that the three species form "a natural group deriving from the same ancestor, which may have been poorly adapted to dry conditions." Additional chromosomal data from Niger sample documented by Dobigny et al. (2002 b). The record from Djibouti is the southernmost on the African continent (Pearch et al., 2001). Reviewed by Pavlinov et al. (1990).