6.

Thomas's Pygmy Jerboa

Salpingotus thomasi

French: Gerboise de Thomas / German: Thomas-Dreizehenzwergspringmaus / Spanish: Jerbo pigmeo de Thomas

Taxonomy. Salpingotus thomas: B.S.Vinogradov, 1928,

“Probably Afghanistan.”

Salpingotus thomas: is in the subgenus Prosalpingotus. According to Vinogradov in 1928 and based on the published description of W. Griffith’s Afghanistan route, most probable type locality was somewhere between Afghan—Pakistan border and Kandahar. Monotypic.

Distribution. Known only from the type specimen from SE Afghanistan.

Descriptive notes. Head—body 57 mm, tail 105 mm, ear 9 mm, hindfoot 23 mm, maxillary tooth row 3 mm; all measurements from the type specimen. No specific data are available for body weight. Thomas’s Pygmy Jerboa is very small. Tail is fatty. Hindfeet have three toes, covered below with brushes of hairs; toes do not have conic calluses at bases. Ears are short and tubiform. Front surfaces of incisors are yellow. P' is slightly smaller in diameter than M3. Molars are low-crowned, with tuberculous surfaces; crown heights of unworn molars are ¢.75% oftheir lengths.

Habitat. Probably sand desert.

Food and Feeding. No information.

Breeding. No information.

Activity patterns. No information.

Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.

Status and Conservation. Classified as Data Deficient on The IUCN Red List (as Salpingotulus michaelis).

Bibliography. Griffith (1847), Vinogradov (1928, 1937).