Gerbil
Overview
 
A gerbil is a small mammal of the order Rodent
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....

ia. Once known simply as "desert rats", the gerbil subfamily includes about 110 species of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n, and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n rodents, including sand rats and jird
Meriones (genus)
Meriones is a rodent genus that includes the gerbil most commonly kept as a pet, Meriones unguiculatus. The genus contains most animals referred to as jirds, but members of the genera Sekeetamys, Brachiones, and sometimes Pachyuromys are also known as jirds. The distribution of Meriones ranges...

s, all of which are adapted to arid habitats. Most are primarily diurnal  (though some, including the common household pet, do exhibit crepuscular
Crepuscular
Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight, that is during dawn and dusk. The word is derived from the Latin word crepusculum, meaning "twilight." Crepuscular is, thus, in contrast with diurnal and nocturnal behavior. Crepuscular animals may also be active on a bright...

 behavior), and almost all are omnivorous
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...

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The word "gerbil" is a diminutive form 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....

", though the jerboas are an unrelated group of rodents occupying a similar ecological niche
Ecological niche
In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different pod if the members of these pods utilize significantly different food...

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One Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...

n species, Meriones unguiculatus
Meriones unguiculatus
Meriones unguiculatus, the Mongolian Jird or Mongolian Gerbil is a rodent belonging to subfamily Gerbillinae. It is the most widely known species of the Gerbil subfamily, and is the usual gerbil species to be kept as a pet or experimental animal, when it is known as the Domesticated Gerbil...

, also known as the Clawed Jird, is a gentle and hardy animal that has become a popular pet
Pet
A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person's enjoyment, as opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons. The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful...

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