Taterillus tranieri Dobigny, Granjon, Aniskin, Ba & Volobouev 2003

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Tranier’s Tateril

Taterillus tranieri

French: Gerbille de Tranier / German: Tranier-Taterillus / Spanish: Gerbillo de Tranier

Other common names: Tranieri's Tateril, Tranier’'s Gerbil

Taxonomy. Taterillus tranier: Dobigny et al., 2003, Dilly, south-western Mali The most recently described species of the genus, 7. tranieri is characterized by a unique chromosomal formula. Monotypic.

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Distribution. S Mauritania and W Mali.

Descriptive notes. Head-body 111-134 mm, tail 150-180 mm, ear 19-5-21 mm, hindfoot 30-33-5 mm; weight 40-54 g. Tranier’s Tateril is a medium-sized gerbil with buffy-brown to red-brown dorsal pelage and white venter. White patches

are visible on cheeks, around eyes. Hindfeet are naked. Hairy tail is long (125% of head-body length) and has terminal pencil of dark hairs. Females bear four pairs of mammae. Chromosomal complement has 2n = 14/15, FNa = 22-24.

Habitat. Inhabits sandy clay soils in cultivated and degraded savanna environments with thorny bushes and grasslands.

Food and Feeding. Diet includes seeds, green parts of plants, and insects in variable proportions.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. Tranier’sTateril is terrestrial and probably nocturnal.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Least Concern on The IUCN Red List, despite the fact that it isknown only from two localities and four specimens, and despite the strong deficiency in the knowledge of the ecology of the species. Bibliography. Dobigny, Aniskin et al. (2005), Dobigny, Granjon et al. (2003), Granjon & Duplantier (2009),

Happold (2013a).