Jaculus (rodent)
Genus of rodents
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The genus Jaculus is a member of the Dipodinae subfamily of dipodoid rodents (jerboas). Jaculus species are distributed in desert and semi-arid regions across northern Africa, the Sahara, the Horn of Africa, Arabia, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
| Jaculus Temporal range: Middle Miocene - Recent | |
|---|---|
| |
| Jaculus orientalis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Rodentia |
| Family: | Dipodidae |
| Subfamily: | Dipodinae |
| Tribe: | Dipodini |
| Genus: | Jaculus Erxleben, 1777 |
| Type species | |
| Mus jaculus | |
| Species | |
Collectively, the species within the genus may be commonly referred to as "desert jerboas", although this more particularly applied to the lesser Egyptian jerboa (Jaculus jaculus).[1]
Species
The following species are recognised for the genus Jaculus:
- Blanford's jerboa, Jaculus blanfordi
- Lesser Egyptian jerboa, Jaculus jaculus
- Greater Egyptian jerboa, Jaculus orientalis
- Thaler's jerboa Jaculus thaleri
- African hammada jerboa Jaculus hirtipes
