Published December 31, 2005 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Meriones (Pallasiomys) meridianus

Description

Meriones (Pallasiomys) meridianus (Pallas 1773)

[Mus] meridianus Pallas 1773, Reise Prov. Russ. Reichs: 702.

Type Locality: Se Russia, Astrakhanskaya Oblast, Dosang (as restricted by Heptner, in Vinogradov et al., 1936, not Chaworth-Musters and Ellerman, 1947; see Pavlinov and Rossolimo, 1987).

Vernacular Names: Midday Jird.

Synonyms: Meriones (Pallasiomys) auceps Thomas 1908; Meriones (Pallasiomys) brevicaudatus (Milne-Edwards 1867); Meriones (Pallasiomys) buechneri Thomas 1909; Meriones (Pallasiomys) cryptorhinus (Blanford 1875); Meriones (Pallasiomys) fulvus Eversmann 1848; Meriones (Pallasiomys) heptneri (Kuznetzov 1944); Meriones (Pallasiomys) jei Wang 1964; Meriones (Pallasiomys) karelini (Kolossow 1935); Meriones (Pallasiomys) lepturus (Büchner 1889); Meriones (Pallasiomys) littoralis (Heptner 1927); Meriones (Pallasiomys) massagetes (Heptner 1933); Meriones (Pallasiomys) muleiensis Wang 1981; Meriones (Pallasiomys) nogaiorum (Heptner 1927); Meriones (Pallasiomys) penicilliger (Heptner 1933); Meriones (Pallasiomys) psammophilus (Milne-Edwards 1871); Meriones (Pallasiomys) roborowskii (Büchner 1889); Meriones (Pallasiomys) shitkovi (Heptner 1933); Meriones (Pallasiomys) tropini Kartavtseva and Korobitsyna 1986; Meriones (Pallasiomys) urianchaicus (Vinogradov 1927); Meriones (Pallasiomys) uschtaganicus (Rall 1940); Meriones (Pallasiomys) zhitkovi (Heptner 1936).

Distribution: From Lower Don River and north of the Caucasus to Mongolia and N China (provinces of Nei Mongol, Hebei, Henen, Shanxi, N Shaanxi, Xinjiang, Gansu, NE Qinghai, and Ningxia; see Ma et al. [1987], Wang [2003], and Zhang et al. [1997]), south to E Turkey, E Iran and N Afghanistan. The isolated segment in Armenia mentioned by Corbet (1978 c) refers to M. dahli (see that account).

Conservation: IUCN – Lower Risk (lc).

Discussion: Subgenus Pallasiomys. Intraspecific chromosomal variation among Russian samples reported by Korobitsyna and Kartavtseva (1988). Utilizing several sets of data, including results from hybridization studies, Dyatlov and Avanyan (1987) tested conspecificity of the subspecies meridianus, nogaiorum, and dahli, and concluded that nogaiorum should be considered a semispecies and dahli a species (see that account). We retain nogaiorum in M. meridianus pending unequivocal results demonstrating its evolutionary status. Phallic morphology described by Yang et al. (1992) and contrasted with M. unguiculatus. Yi it et al. (1998 b) contrasted geographic range, morphology and karyotypes between samples of M. meridianus and M. crassus in E Turkey. Reviewed by Pavlinov et al. (1990). The segment in E Anatolia (Turkey) was reviewed by Yi it et al. (1997 b, 1998 b). Range in Russia, taxonomy, and other characteristics reviewed by Gromov and Erbajeva (1995), who listed both nogaiorum and dahli in the synonymy of M. meridianus.

Notes

Published as part of Wilson, Don E. & Reeder, DeeAnn, 2005, Order Rodentia - Family Muridae, pp. 1189-1531 in Mammal Species of the World: a Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3 rd Edition), Volume 2, Baltimore :The Johns Hopkins University Press on page 1237, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7316535

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Scientific name authorship
Pallas
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Order
Rodentia
Family
Muridae
Genus
Meriones
Species
meridianus
Taxon rank
species
Taxonomic concept label
Meriones (Pallasiomys) meridianus (Pallas, 1773) sec. Wilson & Reeder, 2005

References

  • Vinogradov, B. S., A. I. Argyropulo, and V. G. Heptner. 1936. [Rodents of the Central Asiatic part of USSR.] Akademiya Nauk SSSR, Moscow, 228 pp. (in Russian).
  • Chaworth-Musters, J. L., and J. R. Ellerman. 1947. A revision of the genus Meriones. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 117: 478 - 504.
  • Pavlinov, I. Ya., and O. L. Rossolimo. 1987. Sistematika mlekopitayushchikh SSSR [Systematics of the mammals of the USSR.]. Moscow University Press, Moscow, 282 pp. (in Russian).
  • Milne-Edwards, A. 1867. Observations sur quelques mammiferes du nord de la Chine. Annales des sciences naturelles. Zoologie et biologie animale, 7 (5): 375 - 377.
  • Wang Sung. 1964. [New species and subspecies of mammals from Sinkiang, China.] Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, 1: 6 - 18 (in Chinese).
  • Wang Sung and Zheng Chang-lin. 1981. [On the subspecies of the Chinese sulphur-bellied rat- - Rattus niviventer Hodgson.] Sinozoologia, 1: 1 - 8 (in Chinese).
  • Ma Yong, Wang Feng-gui, Jin Shan-ke, and Li Si-hua. 1987. [Glires (rodents and lagomorphs) of Northern Xinjiang and their zoogeographical distribution.] Science Press, Academia Sinica, Beijing, 274 pp. (in Chinese).
  • Wang, Y. 2003. A complete checklist of mammal species and subspecies in China. A taxonomic and geographic reference. China Forestry Publishing House, (Beijing), 394 pp.
  • Zhang, Y., S. Jin, G. Quan, S. Li, Z. Ye, F. Wang, and M. Zhang. 1997. Distribution of mammalian species in China. China Forestry Publishing House, Beijing, 280 pp.
  • Corbet, G. B. 1978 c. The mammals of the Palaearctic region: A taxonomic review. British Museum (Natural History), London, 314 pp.
  • Korobitsyna, K. V., and I. V. Kartavtseva. 1988. [Variation and evolution of the karyotype of gerbils (Rodentia, Cricetidae, Gerbillinae). I. Karyotypic differentiation of midday gerbils (Meriones meridianus) of the USSR fauna.] Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 67: 1889 - 1899 (in Russian).
  • Dyatlov, A. I., and L. A. Avanyan. 1987. [Substantiation of species rank for two subspecies of gerbils (Meriones, Cricetidae, Rodentia).] Zoologicheskii Zhurnal, 66: 1069 - 1074 (in Russian).
  • Yang, A., S. Liu, and L. Fang. 1992. [Phallic morphology of eight species in Gerbillinae and Microtinae from China.] Acta Theriologica Sinica, 12 (1): 31 - 38 (in Chinese with English abstract).
  • Pavlinov, I. Ya., Yu. A. Dubrovsky, O. L. Rossolimo, and E. G. Potapova. 1990. [Gerbils of the world.] Nauka, Moscow, 368 pp. (in Russian).
  • Gromov, I. M., and M. A. Erbajeva. 1995. [The mammals of Russia and adjacent territories. Lagomorphs and Rodents.] Russian Academy of Sciences, Zoological Institut, St. Petersburg, 520 pp.