Gerbillus (Gerbillus) pulvinatus Rhoads 1896

Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, pp. 1189-1531 : 1231

Gerbillus (Gerbillus) pulvinatus Rhoads 1896

Gerbillus (Gerbillus) pulvinatus Rhoads 1896 , Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia: 537.

Type Locality: Ethiopia, Lake Rudolf, Rusia.

Vernacular Names: Rhoads's Gerbil.

Synonyms: Gerbillus (Gerbillus) bilensis Frick 1914 .

Distribution: Endemic to NE Africa in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti.

Conservation: IUCN – Critically Endangered as G. bilensis , Lower Risk (lc) as G. pulvinatus .

Discussion: Subgenus Gerbillus . Lay (1983:339) questioned the synonymy of bilensis with pulvinatus as allocated without comment by F. Petter (1975 b): "Inasmuch as these two forms were described from opposite ends of the rift valley in Ethiopia that are separated by at least 700 km and because they have not been critically compared, G. bilensis should be regarded as distinct pending revision." Until that comparison is available we include bilensis in G. pulvinatus . Yalden et al. (1996) would also include dunni as a synonym of G. pulvinatus . Records from Djibouti are documented by Pearch et al. (2001), who also provided a good description of the species.