Psammomys obesus Cretzschmar 1828

Psammomys obesus Cretzschmar 1828, in: Ruppell, Atlas Reise Nordl. Afr., Zool. Saugeth.: 58.

Type Locality: Egypt, Alexandria.

Vernacular Names: Fat Sand Rat.

Synonyms: Psammomys algiricus Thomas 1902; Psammomys dianae Morrison-Scott 1939; Psammomys elegans Heuglin 1877; Psammomys nicolli Thomas 1908; Psammomys roudairei Lataste 1881; Psammomys terraesanctae Thomas 1902; Psammomys tripolitanus Thomas 1902 .

Distribution: In North Africa from Morocco (Aulagnier and Thevenot, 1986) and Algeria (Kowalski and Rzebik-Kowalska, 1991), through Tunisia and coastal region of Egypt (Osborn and Helmy, 1980), into Syria, Jordan, Israel, and parts of Arabian Peninsula (Harrison and Bates, 1991); also on coast of Sudan (Corbet, 1978 c).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Electrophoretic, chromosomal, and morphological traits were analyzed by Qumsiyeh and Chesser (1988) in the context of assessing evolutionary change among four genera of gerbils. Reviewed by Corbet (1978 c) and Pavlinov et al. (1990). Arabian population reviewed by Harrison and Bates (1991), Israeli and Jordanian by Qumsiyeh (1996) and Mendelssohn and Yom-Tov (1999), Egyptian by Osborn and Helmy (1980), Algerian by Kowalski and Rzebik-Kowalska (1991), and Moroccan by Aulagnier and Thevenot (1986).