Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) poecilops Yerbury and Thomas 1895

Gerbillus (Hendecapleura) poecilops Yerbury and Thomas 1895, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1895: 549.

Type Locality: Yemen, Aden, Lahej.

Vernacular Names: Large Aden Gerbil.

Distribution: Yemen and SW Saudi Arabia.

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (nt).

Discussion: Subgenus Hendecapleura . A valid species reviewed by Harrison and Bates (1991) and Pavlinov et al. (1990). Volobouev et al. (1995 a) analyzed R- and C-banding of chromosomes from G. poecilops, G. nanus, and G. henleyi and concluded that all three were derived from the same ancestor. Furthermore, G. poecilops is the most plesiomorphic and appears to be a "living fossil" isolated in the coastal mountain ranges of the Red Sea in Yemen and SW Saudi Arabia.