Meriones (Pallasiomys) sacramenti Thomas 1922

Meriones (Pallasiomys) sacramenti Thomas 1922, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 9, 10: 552.

Type Locality: Israel, 10 mi (16 km) S Beersheba.

Vernacular Names: Buxton's Jird.

Synonyms: Meriones (Pallasiomys) legeri Aharoni 1932 .

Distribution: A small range in Israel (on coastal plain south of the Yarqon River and in the N Negev) and NE Sinai Peninsula of Egypt (Harrison and Bates, 1991; Osborn and Helmy, 1980).

Conservation: IUCN – Endangered.

Discussion: Subgenus Pallasiomys . A distinctive Israeli and Sinai endemic, reviewed by Osborn and Helmy (1980), Pavlinov et al. (1990), Harrison and Bates (1991), Qumsiyeh (1996), and Mendelssohn and Yom-Tov (1999). Apparently most closely related to M. shawi and M. libycus in its morphology (see Harrison and Bates, 1991, and references therein).