The Indian Desert Jird (Meriones hurrianae) is a species of Jird found mainly in the Thar desert

Thar Desert

The Thar Desert |Punjab]] province. The Cholistan Desert adjoins the Thar desert spreading into Pakistani Punjab province.-Location and description:...

 in India. Jirds are closely related to Gerbil

Gerbil

A gerbil is a small mammal of the order Rodentia. Once known simply as "desert rats", the gerbil subfamily includes about 110 species of African, Indian, and Asian rodents, including sand rats and jirds, all of which are adapted to arid habitats...

s.

Distribution

The Indian Desert Jird is found in southeastern Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 and Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

 to northwestern 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...

. In India they can be found in Rajasthan

Rajasthan

Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

 and Gujarat.

Description

The Indian Jird has a grey-brown coat with yellowish-grey belly. It is approximately 12 to 14 cm long and has a tail 10 to 15 cm long. The distinguishing characteristics include short ears, long black claws and orange incisors.

Habitat

Jirds inhabit desert and barren areas preferring firm soil. They are not to be found in pure sand dunes or rocky outcrops.

Habits

The jirds are gregarious and their burrows are seen close by. Each jird will have at least two or more entrances to his burrow complex. Often the entrance is in the shade of a tree or near the trunk of bushes. They feed on seeds, roots, nuts, grasses and insects.

Difference between 'jirds' and 'gerbils'

Jirds are closely related to gerbils but are differentiated by the absence of long hind feet and the characteristic erect posture of a gerbil. The tail is generally shorter than the head and body in a jird. It also has much shorter ears. In addition, the Indian Desert Jird is diurnal, in comparison to the three common gerbil species found in India which are nocturnal.

External links

• http://www.gerbil-info.com/html/indian_hairy-footed_gerbil.htm