Four-toed jerboa
Encyclopedia
The Four-toed Jerboa is a small jumping desert rodent
. This species of jerboa
is endangered and lives in coastal salt marsh
es, and dry and clay desert
s. It has long hind legs, short front legs, and long ears about the length of its head. Its fur is the color of the sand
it burrows
in, with a white underbelly. It is native to Egypt
and Libya
.
Each back foot of this Jerboa has an extra, fourth toe, which is small compared to the 3 functional toes. In other respects it is a typical Jerboa, with it's huge, hopping back feet and tall, rabbitlike ears. The upperparts are speckled black and orange, the rump orange, the sides gray, and the underparts white. The long, balancing tail has a black band near the white, feathery tip. Emerging at night, the Jerboa eats grass, leaves, and soft seeds.
Rodent
Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
. This species of jerboa
Jerboa
The jerboa form the bulk of the membership of the family Dipodidae. Jerboas are hopping desert rodents found throughout Asia and Northern Africa. They tend to be found in hot deserts....
is endangered and lives in coastal salt marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es, and dry and clay desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
s. It has long hind legs, short front legs, and long ears about the length of its head. Its fur is the color of the sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
it burrows
Fossorial
A fossorial organism is one that is adapted to digging and life underground such as the badger, the naked mole rat, and the mole salamanders Ambystomatidae...
in, with a white underbelly. It is native to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
.
Each back foot of this Jerboa has an extra, fourth toe, which is small compared to the 3 functional toes. In other respects it is a typical Jerboa, with it's huge, hopping back feet and tall, rabbitlike ears. The upperparts are speckled black and orange, the rump orange, the sides gray, and the underparts white. The long, balancing tail has a black band near the white, feathery tip. Emerging at night, the Jerboa eats grass, leaves, and soft seeds.