Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) amoenus de Winton 1902

Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) amoenus de Winton 1902, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 7, 9: 46.

Type Locality: Egypt, Giza Province.

Vernacular Names: Pleasant Gerbil.

Distribution: Recorded only from Egypt and Libya.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Hendecapleura . Included in G. nanus by Corbet (1978 c), but convincingly separated and shown to be a distinctive species by Osborn and Helmy (1980), who reviewed the Egyptian population. Lay (1983) speculated that G. amoenus may range across Tunisia and Algeria to Mauritania, noted its past associations with Dipodillus dasyurus and D. campestris, and advised future comparison with Gerbillus nanus . Among Egyptian species of Gerbillus, G. amoenus is morphologically most closely related to G. nanus and G. henleyi (Osborn and Helmy, 1980) . Ranck (1968) reviewed the Libyan populations and recorded significant geographic variation. Reviewed by Pavlinov et al. (1990).